Robert's Most Recent Comments

1. At the Tito's Handmade Vodka Review on Feb 26, 2009 at 7:02 pm...

   @Daniel
   
   Sorry for replying so long from when you posted. Apparently my e-mail notices aren't working.
   
   According to Wikipedia, field corn is a grain ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize ). So, it qualifies for use in vodka. In addition to grain, potatoes and sugar beet molasses can be used to make vodka. I believe the official ruling after the Vodka Wars ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodka_war ) said anything not made from the traditional ingredients should have a special notice, though that reference seems to have been removed since I read it awhile ago.
   
   It's clear to me now that what people expect from a vodka varies from place to place (if not from person to person). Eastern Europe seem to like to have some kind of tastable bitter-based flavor. Some areas prefer a sweet-based flavor. Others, including America, I think, prefer the vodka to be neutral.
   
   My argument is this: Pure grain ethanol is flavorless. If it has flavor, there are probably impurities. Pure water is virtually flavorless. Mix them together, and the resulting vodka would be virtually flavorless, as well. I haven't the technology to determine where the flavors of some vodkas come from. Therefore, I can't say if it comes from the taste of the water used, the distillation method, the filtering method, other impurities, etc.
   
   So, there is some art to producing a good vodka, whether it has subtle flavors or is flavorless. What you like best is your preference. I don't down rate vodkas with subtle flavors unless the flavor is offensive.

2. At the Cristall Vodka Review on Jan 27, 2009 at 10:46 pm...

   @Jeremy Logan Thanks. It's fixed.

3. At the Taaka Review on Jan 16, 2009 at 8:48 pm...

   @Rob Two things:
   
   1. Calling Taaka a premium brand vodka is absurd. I don't mean to be harsh, but we're talking about a bottom shelf vodka here.
   
   2. When I say I do a shot, I really mean I'm drinking the vodka straight with no mixer. I don't just throw it back. I keep the vodka in my mouth and try to experience it, tasting any subtle flavors or effects. A shot for a review on this site is really like drinking a martini with no olives and no vermouth.
   
   That said, good luck with your review. Taaka is pretty bad no matter how you drink it.

4. At the Svedka Review on Jan 13, 2009 at 3:53 pm...

   I was going to mention that, too, but the robot-Bjork in "All is Full of Love" is pretty spot on. It even has the grafted on humanoid face, where the robots in "I, Robot" had a human shape without details as defined as in Bjork / Svedka. I can't imagine that Stan Winston didn't draw inspiration from the 1999 music video. I think the Svedka Spokesbot was developed in 2005.
   
   "I, Robot" was released in 2004, so it may have been a big influence (bigger, even) than the Bjork video. "I, Robot" was apparently set in 2035, 2 years later than the year of which Svedka's claims it will be the best vodka. Maybe the robots in "I, Robot" weren't self-aware. Maybe they just got drunk on Svedka and went nuts on Will Smith.

5. At the Svedka Review on Jan 13, 2009 at 2:35 pm...

   @vodkadude You might like Bjork's "All is Full of Love" music video...

6. At the Sobieski Review on Jan 12, 2009 at 2:53 pm...

   @Debbie I'm glad to hear Sobieski is doing so well. It definitely deserves to be heard about. And you can read my review on Grey Goose to see what we think about it here at VodkaBuzz.

7. At the Svedka Review on Jan 12, 2009 at 2:51 pm...

   @zippydude, It's a good vodka. I've recently been getting Sobieski to save a little cash (and because I can't find Tito's as often), but I might swap to Svedka to mix things up.

8. At the Vodka 14 Review on Dec 18, 2008 at 10:34 pm...

   Fair enough, West_man. It's on my suggestions list.

9. At the Skol Review on Dec 12, 2008 at 12:43 pm...

   I haven't been able to quantify hangover potential. A lot of that does have to do with the impurities that don't get filtered out, but it has a lot more to do with whether you re-hydrate (since alcohol causes dehydration, which has all kinds of nasty effects associated with hangovers), whether you ate food during / after drinking (as I've found eating a good meal after reduces the stomach nausea), and how well your metabolism works (as I found in my younger years that I rarely had hangovers and now I have them more often as my metabolism slows with age).
   
   So, I could say whether I got one, but I don't think it'd be indicative of other people's experience and it may unjustly show poorly for a vodka if I didn't take care of myself before bed. That said, for the Imperia review (currently rated #4), I did mention the hangover (or lack of one). I did this because their site specifically pointed out the lower impurities would result in less of a hang over.
   
   As far as reviews, I am the only reviewer at this point. I usually post my opinions, then post those of the people I drank with at the end of the review. So, not only did I review Rain, I reviewed every vodka on the site. Rain is a really great vodka for the dollar. You may be interested in Sobieski as well. It's priced around Smirnoff, but is better than Stoli. In fact, it's better than a lot of vodkas I've had. It's currently rated #6.

10. At the Skol Review on Dec 11, 2008 at 12:25 pm...

    Actually, I prefer straight vodka to mixed drinks. Until recently, that was the only way I drank vodka. For reviews, I don't simply knock back shots. I try to take in the flavor and experience the vodka, rather than throw it down. I'm sure one could get by on Skol if they shot and chased it so fast that they didn't "savor" it. However, while trying to enjoy the vodka, I just don't see how anyone could prefer the taste of Skol, even ignoring the obvious bottom-shelf-ness of the vodka. It seems to me Skol isn't and doesn't pretend to be a good vodka.
    
    That said, everyone is entitled to his own opinion. If you want to drink Skol, I certainly won't stop you.