What an amazing find and oddball vodka! The nose is almost virtually non-existent. Not even ethanol fumes, just a faint mineral smell. Only after carefully looking for something I could detect a peculiar smell that has been present in spirits charcoal filtered. Couldn't find anything online verifying how it was distilled though. And just to verify it wasn't my sense of smell that was broken I compared it against Tahoe Blue and Smirnoff. Starr Blue had by far the most neutral odor of them all. But here's where things get curious. When you taste it you get actual notes of grapefruit and citrus rind. The finish isn't just of ethanol but a nice peppery taste. I've reviewed plenty of vodkas by now and always felt that when professional reviews mention vodka having any taste besides some sugar or it's base ingredient they were full of it. But this, I am sure of. I'm glad someone else reviewed this and listed the same flavors I noticed because this is a first for me. Its my first encounter with what can be termed a fruity vodka! So how does it compare against Smirnoff and Tahoe Blue? They all had their own distinct tastes but Starr Blu was by far the most neutral, watery and had the least amount of bite between all of them. Whereas Tahoe Blue has that weird almost rum like quality and Smirnoff that sweetness and bitterness of corn, Starr Blue just has the aforementioned flavors. It's less bitter than Smirnoff and while the burn is less severe than Tahoe Blue, it is more unpleasant. It's still a bit of a coarse product than TB but it does stand out just a bit more than Smirnoff does. For the price point this is a mandatory vodka that should be gracing any respectable home bar. I still prefer Tahoe Blue as my favorite affordable vodka. What can I say? I don't quite care for something as watery as Starr Blu. Nonetheless this is an excellent vodka at a mindblowingly great price.