How much should I pay for a bottle of vodka? It’s a question we get asked frequently when we’re running cocktail making presentations and demonstrations. My cocktails are all now made using bottles and ingredients from my own collection. So you might assume that for cocktail making at home, it’s all about top quality ingredients. Grey Goose perhaps for my cocktails. But you might be surprised that actually it isn’t. So does that mean I use the cheapest vodka from the corner shop. Well, again No!
Incidentally the same goes for other ingredients too. I’ve selected vodka to talk about but it could equally be gin, tequila, rum, brandy or whisky. The same rules apply.
Think about the ingredients
I tread a middle course. I have bought ‘expensive’ vodkas in the past. Chase vodka is a particular favourite as it is made with potatoes and so it has a real creamy texture. I was paying £40 back in 2010ish. But if you’re then combining it with other big flavours they tend to overpower the finesse of the vodka. So I went back to something a little more ‘reasonable.’ I also don’t buy cheap for (hopefully) obvious reasons. Your aim is to produce a quality, tasty cocktail. So making it on the cheap is a false economy.
Absolut vodka
The vodka brand I settled on for most of my mixing is the Swedish Absolut brand. It is reasonably priced and good quality. They also offer a wide range of flavours – if that’s your thing. In the past I have worked with
- Pear
- Peach
- Raspberry (although raspberry vodkas made with fruit give a much bigger flavour hit)
- Pepper
- Lemon
- Vanilla (use this lots in many cocktails including the iconic Espresso Martini)
- Mandarin
- Orient Apple (no longer available)
There are other good brands available too. I always quite liked Finlandia too. So use whatever your budget can afford. But don’t assume that using an ultra premium vodka will improve your cocktails. Nevertheless if money isn’t really a consideration, why not use Snow Queen or Grey Goose or whatever. You will at least know that you’re using the finest of everything. But then to do justice to the cocktail, it’s important that it’s made correctly.
It’s one of the 12 you need
If you’re building a collection at home of ingredients you need to make cocktails at home, this is one of the 12 you will need. See the separate entry explaining this here.