Review: Chopin Vodka
You’re a famous 19th century composer. What are the odds that someone is going to take your good name and turn it into a vodka 150 years later?
Well, someone did: Polmos Siedlce and Millennium Import, of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The connection is Poland, where Chopin lived and vodka was (allegedly) born. Chopin is a traditional potato vodka, from Polish potatoes. Despite the fancy, frosted glass bottle, it has a very traditional flavor for potato vodkas, too. Light up front, a tiny bit sweet as you sip, then medicinal on the finish. Not a lot of nuance, here, but certainly something you could drink in a martini or a cocktail. I don’t recommend it straight, really.
B / $29 / chopinvodka.com
March 27th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
What? I stop in to see what’s up at DrinkHacker, and this is what I’m rewarded with?
You give Level 42 an A-… you give some vodka you describe as “sweet” a B+… and Chopin only rates a B?
Chopin is the smoothest vodka I’ve ever had. It is absolutely excellent chilled with ice. Drop a twist or an olive into it and you’ll miss its exceptionally clean flavor. (And for God’s sake, get OVER the “dirty martini,” already.)
I can forgive you for not knowing that the so-called Millennium Import Company is actually a front operation for Moet-Hennessy, the same group that brought us the woefully overrated Belvedere. But I can’t forgive your bad taste. Why bars keep stocking Belvedere when this gem is available is beyond me.
I can only assume you were hung over.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
A B isn’t bad. It’s perfectly palatable. But there’s much better out there, including, yes, Level 42. Try Tito’s.
April 8th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I, too, actually give Chopin a slight edge over Tito’s, at least for just drinking over ice. Tito’s is better for mixed drinks or for making infusions/flavored vodkas (and it is cheap enough - $18 - that I can experiment without much risk).
Both of those vodkas made 3Luxe’s top three ranking though (link: http://www.3luxe.com/category/Spirits/Vodka). I have yet to try Square One to see how it measures up, however.