Kirkland French Vodka

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.

I'm not going to become obsessed with vodka, but my recent consumption of Cajun martinis has me leaning in that direction at this moment in time. While at Costco, I just couldn't resist taking a shot at this expression, reported to be the equivalent of Grey Goose at half the price. I wouldn't know, I don't drink a lot of vodka so I will compare this to the Sobieski, Luksusowa and Smirnoff Blue I've recently reviewed on this site. Tasted in the aforementioned Cajun Martini, 4:1 Vodka Martini, Reverse Martini and neat. On the nose this is slightly sweet, otherwise very neutral. On the palate this retains the sweetness of the nose and adds a rich 'bready' note that reminds me of the center portion of grocery store white bread. It's subtle but adds a "comfort food" vibe to the experience. Of particular note is mouthfeel, which is silky and rich. Nicely creamy with very little pepper or heat, this is a clean and delivers a fast, muted finish. Overall I like this the most of the four vodkas I've examined recently. This is the best balanced by far, and the most interesting on its own. It is at least equal to the Sobieski in the jalapeno concoction where the rye vodka's spicy DNA works with the vegetal elements of the pepper. The Kirkland is better in the other applications where I've tried it. Good price, good value, definitely recommended as a quality house vodka. At $21 for a 1.75 liter bottle, this is an easy buy. One thing I'll add to this - the bottle is stupidly large and heavy. It's tall enough to potentially present some storage issues, as if finding a spot for the Luxardo Maraschino wasn't annoying enough. I score on a simple scale that follows a bell curve. A 1 on this scale is well below average, most mass market offerings will cluster around 2.5. Kirkland French Vodka is a bit ahead of the curve.

Nose - soft grain, dry herbal notes, subtle vanilla, black pepper, mild ethanol burn. Taste - soft sweet grain, lemon and grapefruit zest, vanilla, powdered sugar, floral tea, black pepper, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with dry grain, sour citrus, and vanilla, and pepper flavors. I know people often say this is just rebranded Grey Goose. While there are some similarities, I don’t think they’re the same. I actually like this slightly more. The nose is neutral and unremarkable. There’s the soft grain from the wheat, a bit of herbs and spices, and just a hint of vanilla. On the palate, things get more interesting than with Grey Goose. The arrival brings nice citrus zest, more vanilla, and some tea vibes. Whereas the Grey Goose presented rather muddled, this fares better, although not quite at the level of Ketel One. Overall, this is solid vodka, but not exceptional. The big selling point here is the price, for those who are fortunate enough to live in an area where Costco sells liquor. It’s about on par with the rest of the pack, so Jim Beam Original reigns supreme, at least for today. Thanks to @ContemplativeFox for providing the sample and encouraging this vodka sipping madness.

16: There's a hint of vanilla and maybe the slightest waft of malt on the nose. It's a really nice nose for a vodka. The vanilla has a fairly rich character with but a tremendous amount of sweetness. Yeah, there really is that malt there. The flavor is nice and clean with substantial spiciness. It's not super rich, but it does have some flavor. The spiciness is quite prickly. There's some nice vanilla rather than rubbing alcohol. There's a bit of a melon fruitiness. There's some mild earthiness too. The palate has really solid complexity for a vodka and still manages to avoid most of that rubbing alcohol flavor. Yeah, that natural earthiness really comes out. There's some graininess that has to be rye, but it also reminds me a bit of potato. It's really solid, even as a sipper. I'm currently thinking 16. There's a lot of white pepper spice and maybe a bit of black pepper too. This is actually a fairly mild vodka, but it's still fairly complex and tasty. Definitely not a 17, but it might be a 15.

Kirkland spirits (sold at Costco) are actually good, or at least more decent than some brands at higher prices, and this Vodka is no exception. It’s not the best vodka but, the price-quality ratio makes it a terrific purchase. It’s certainly not “Grey Goose” but, that’s not the best vodka out there either.

I really enjoy this one. It’s smooth as a mixer or on the rocks. Sometimes I drink it neat if I’m feeling zesty. At $20 for 1.75L, this is an amazing value! My only complaint is the size of the bottle. It’s so tall, I had to remove a shelf in my liquor cabinet to fit it.