Rating: 14/23 I recall initially being really impressed by this when I didn't have much to compare it to on hand. We'll see how it holds up SBS with some really good vodkas. N: Unlike many vodkas, this does actually have a nose. I get a dab of lightly toasted grain mixed with light pepper and lemon peel. That's about it thought. P: This is pretty good. I get a light floral note up from that suggests vanilla before moving into a mix of grain, herbal, and vegetal flavors that eventually mix in some pepper and then give way to to a cleaner water flavor with a slight hint of lemon. This is a pretty smooth palate. There is something a bit oily and bitter in here though that I'm not a fan of. It doesn't taste like rubber or chemicals though. F: The pepper and clean water remain. A very light herbal and vegetal element with the slightest hint of lemon sticks around as well. It's a good clean finish. I like this well enough, but I don't like it as much as some of the other things I have on hand like Chopin Wheat and Ocean. Now, none of these are expensive, but Kirkland costs half as much as the alternatives, so it definitely has that going for it. The funny thing though is that although I have a few bottles of vodka now, I'm not really familiar with cocktails that use them, so they tend to sit on my shelf for a very long time. I mean, I'm familiar with Cape Cods and vodka martinis, but I don't get their appeals. Since I can't figure out anything else to do with my vodka and it's cheap and I don't buy much of it, it's very important that it be good neat. I'd say that this is fine in that regard. It tastes OK and is quite smooth. It is, however, decidedly lower quality all around than Chopin and Ocean are. The smoothness is much better than that of Beluga Noble, but the flavor isn't as good, so that's mixed. At the end of the day, I'm fine with this, but I probably won't be getting another bottle. Between the two, I think I have a slight preference for Beluga Noble despite its harshness. That's a high 14, so I think this is. a 13 to 14. I'm going with a low 14, but a 14 nonetheless.