SKYY Vodka (Discontinued)

Nose - clean dry grain, mineral water, subtle vanilla, unidentifiable citrus notes, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - sweet grain, lemon zest, vanilla, black pepper, dry herbal notes, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast with sweet grain, vanilla, and dry spicy, herbal notes. There’s really not much on the nose, but it has more alcohol fumes than the Tito’s. It’s exceptionally neutral and possesses a mineral water quality, along with almost undetectable vanilla and citrus notes. The palate is a step up from the Tito’s, but not by much. There’s no off-putting papery note, but rather a nice, natural grainy vanilla sweetness balanced with some herbal spice and citric qualities. It finishes very quickly and cleanly, with the same notes found on the palate quickly fading away. Overall, I like this slightly more than Tito’s, but not enough to notch it higher on my rating scale. I’d still rather drink Jim Beam Original, which I’ve decided to use as a baseline to determine whether any of the vodkas I taste deserve a score higher than 1.5 from me. For those keeping score at home, Skyy is now in the lead, quickly trouncing Tito’s which has been my default vodka of choice for a very long time.

There might be a slight mineral smell on the nose, but that's about it. It has a bit more character to its flavor than Platinum 7X, but it's also a fair bit harsher. It isn't super harsh, but it definitely isn't as smooth. There's more sweetness than bitterness here and there's a nice balance of earth with some bit of grain. At times, I think there's a faint hint of fruit, but I'm not quite sure what. It's more toward the citrus side though. I like the Platinum 7X better, but this is surprisingly no slouch. The harshness has a clean peppery element to it that works. There's nothing really exciting here, but it's fairly well rounded. A respectable choice. I really thought that this would taste horribly like chemicals, but it's more of just a fairly mild, ho-hum vodka with some nice but fairly nondescript richness and sweetness. There is something a tad odd in the flavor that I can't quite place, but it's still a solid vodka. The richness here definitely has some bitterness that is a bit more akin to rubber than Platinum 7X is, but there's a hint of fruitiness in it too. Not bad, but not special either.

Nose: Ethanol. A whiff of vanilla, but that's natural for ethanol. Palate: Ethanol. Soft and not aggressive to start with but there is peppery heat later on. The texture is silky and slightly oily. Finish: Short. Ethanol. It's cheap vodka. What more do you need to know? I bought this because it was the cheapest thing in the shop I went to when I needed neutral spirit for a batch of limoncello. If I'd had the time I would have driven to a larger outlet and bought Finlandia for $4 less, or Absolut for $4 more. I wouldn't drink this stuff straight if you paid me to. "Inferior" : 65/100 (1.5 stars)

The palate is neutral, a bit rich, a bit sweet, somewhat peppery. The viscosity is moderate, as is the harshness. It's a pretty solid vodka. It's sort of a nothing vodka, but I don't object to that. It's a clean flavor. There's no nice grain or anything, but it's fine. I'm thinking 12 to 13 because of its clean flavor. I think I'll bump it up to a 13.

Certainly a value brand vodka, but I think deserves more credit than as a strict mixer. It’s got an oily palate up front and a peppery finish, but there is a lot of ethanol burn in between. Not undrinkable neat, but not my first choice, either. Works great in a Bloody Mary.

Flavorless and odorless. So easy to drink. Put your nose in the glass and you get no volatility, almost nothing at all. Perfect for mixing a Bloody Mary, screw driver, or even just if you want an easier shot