Vodka Review: Chopin by Robert
- Rating
- out of 5 shots
- Bang For The Buck
- 4 out of 5 shots
- User Rating
-
4.1429 out of 5 shots
- Rate It Now!
- Average Price
- $37.99 per 750 mL / See By State / You add a price you've seen if you join VodkaBuzz.
- Percent Alcohol
- 40
- Distilled From
- Potatoes
- Times Distilled
- 4
- Produced By
- Polmos Siedlce
- Website
- Chopin
- Cap Type
- Cork
Identifying Features
An elegant frosted bottle with a neck wrapped in black foil. An oval of unfrosted glass above the scripted logo reveals the portrait of Chopin.
Written on the Bottle
Frederic Chopin transformed the subtleties of the Polish spirit into enchanting, emotional music. That same passion is found in Chopin Vodka. Handcrafted in Poland with methods passed down from the fifteenth century, made exclusively with potatoes grown in the Podlasie region of Poland and distilled four times. The result is an exceptionally well-rounded vodka with a smooth, clean finish. Chopin is the spirit of Poland.
Review
I picked up Chopin on a whim. I rarely get to drink potato vodkas, and I tend to shy away from the so-called ultra premium vodkas because they tend to be better mixers than shooters.
The Shot
Chopin is virtually flavorless in the mouth. There is only a slight burn on the way down. The after taste is a little bitter and tends to stick a little harder than most vodkas. It almost requires a chaser. Overall, Chopin is a very good shooter.
The Mixed Drink
I mixed Chopin with orange juice. At a moderate mixture, I imagine most would have a hard time detecting any flavor in a Chopin screw driver. I detected a very, very slight bitter flavor. When I mixed it a little stronger, the bitters came out even more. Unless you're trying to get smashed, I doubt you'll be mixing it strong enough to matter. Ultimately, Chopin is a great mixer.
Opinions
Chopin is a really great vodka. If you're looking for a top shelf vodka, give it a try. A few other people mixed with Chopin and were very pleased with it. Coupled with the completely clean taste of the vodka straight, Chopin is a vodka that will make everyone happy.
If you see the following form, please ignore it.
Comments On Chopin
Austin Smith said on Mar 17, 2009 at 1:10 am...
I tried Chopin on a whim as well. It literally has almost no taste, and slight burn on the way down. For 40 bucks per 750ml its really not worth it. I mixed mine up with ice in a shaker, if the price was about 20 bucks cheaper I would recommend this vodka.
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bobthewelder said on Mar 17, 2009 at 10:22 pm...
I have not tried this one as I didn't know it was a potato vodka. I will give it a try, and you should do a review on Blue Ice American Vodka from Texas. I really enjoyed it straight up. My wife enjoyed it mixed. Occasionally I add a little vanilla to my vodka, and this was great straight as well. I used to be a Stli guy, preferring their Vanil. I still enjoy Stoli, but less often as I found others I like better.
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james.errico said on May 17, 2009 at 8:02 pm...
Good Vodka, much better than Belvedere, but much more expensive than say, Sobieski. :)
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Ben said on Nov 16, 2009 at 2:56 am...
I tried this recently, as I found some heavily discounted 375mL bottles. I tried it slightly cooled and even tested it head on versus Blue Ice, Sobieski, and Belvedere. I like it most as a shooter. I found it had a slight flavor that made it unsuitable for mixing with Code Red. My friend had a similar experience with Diet Mountain Dew, which he said was just funky. I think it would mix well with a Bloody Mary or other non-sweet drink. OJ mixed OK. It seemed generally smooth and not too bitter on the aftertaste.
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Robert said on Nov 16, 2009 at 8:06 am...
I think I've only mixed Chopin for this review. Otherwise, I drink it straight. It's pretty good that way, but you may be right about mixing it with something non-sweet. Unfortunately, I don't drink a lot of non-sweet cocktails. If you're a fan of bloody marry or even a martini, that might be worth exploring.
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Ben said on Nov 19, 2009 at 3:08 am...
I broke open my second bottle and it tastes the same as the first. I had another friend try the 2nd bottle for a third opinion and he said it had a slight onion tinge to it. So either the sunlight from the store window changed the flavor over time, or it's just the way it tastes. I read some article about storing spirits online last week (I can't find it anymore) where some guys from the Chicago Tribune asked tips from the Beverage Tasting Institute. They mentioned sunlight could potentially change the sugar structure of spirits, altering the flavor. I'm guessing this may have happened.
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Patrick said on Dec 23, 2009 at 8:43 pm...
I'll have to try Choplin. I really liked grey goose so this has to be even better. Has anyone tried a soy vodka? I really liked it. Really smooth. It had a really big red 3 on the bottle and it the bottle top had a loop in it. We joked about it and said that you could put a rope through the loop and where your vodka anywhere.
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Jason said on Jan 07, 2010 at 10:42 am...
Very smooth, hardly any burn, aftertaste is not unpleasant. Probably the best potato vodka out there.
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Robert said on Jan 07, 2010 at 11:08 am...
I'd have to say this is my favorite potato vodka, as well. It's also one of the few vodkas I can enjoy straight when warm. If I'm at a bar and I want to do a shot, I get this unchilled to avoid the watered down flavor you get after a shaken shot.
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Jason said on Jan 07, 2010 at 2:17 pm...
I didn't see a review on here for Luksusova. It's supposed to be another good potato vodka that is less expensive than Chopin. I haven't found a bottle of it myself, though. Would love to see a review on this one here too. Great and informative site, keep it up!
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Robert said on Jan 13, 2010 at 8:11 am...
They don't sell Luksusova around here. I've heard good things about it. I'll get some if I can find it.
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Robert said on Jan 13, 2010 at 10:56 am...
@Patrick, 3 is a pretty good vodka from what I remember. It's been a few years since I had any, but I know I bought it on several occasions. I don't think the soy does anything special, though, flavor wise. Sorry for the delay in replying. I thought I did this last month!
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taffyg2003 said on Apr 13, 2010 at 5:29 pm...
In a recent martini with olives, Chopin impressed me with its incredibly smooth drinkability and minimal burn on swallowing. However, it had little flavor to enhance the martini, and left a lingering mildly spicy and bitter aftertaste after swallowing. Overall, in a martini, it was too bland for my taste, though it would probably be a very nice shooter due to its amazing smoothness. I suppose that it reminds me of a smoother version of Ketel One. At this point, I would give it 4 stars, and place it seventh just behind Svedka and before Ketel One in terms of its ranking as a martini vodka.
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Jason said on Jun 24, 2010 at 3:42 pm...
Ugh, bummer. I really enjoyed my first bottle of Chopin earlier this year, but this second one I got is rather off in taste, like it somehow got contaminated or something. Maybe that's why they were selling it so cheap at that particular store.
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AZWolverine said on Dec 21, 2010 at 9:25 pm...
A very smooth & sweet potato vodka, but it's missing something. High quality, but I actually prefer the much lower priced Luksusowa potato vodka. Then again, that's just my opinion, which isn't worth a whole lot, to be honest!
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taffyg2003 said on Jan 09, 2011 at 11:30 am...
@AZWolverine, I agree with your assessment of Chopin. While it is about as smooth as any vodka that I've tried, it does have something missing. That something is flavor; it tastes a bit watered down. I drink vodka martinis straight up with olives, and I prefer a cooling sweet flavor to enhance the cocktail, and smoothness to make it pleasant to drink. Chopin misses the mark a little by being too shy on flavor. For me, Crystal Head provides the best vodka martini experience because of its supreme smoothness, lack of burn, refreshing and sweet flavor, and pleasant aftertaste. Try it, if you get the chance.
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AZWolverine said on Jan 10, 2011 at 9:43 pm...
I'm very partial to Tito's, but I look forward to trying Crystal Head - regardless of the drinking experience, the bottle will be a keepsake! :)
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taffyg2003 said on Jan 11, 2011 at 5:52 pm...
@AZWolverine, the bottle really is part of the Crystal Head experience. It could have been just a gimmick not supported by a quality product, but Crystal Head vodka is actually even more impressive than the cool packaging. In fact, Crystal Head could be presented in a milk carton and I would still think it is the best vodka around.
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AZWolverine said on Jan 11, 2011 at 6:04 pm...
Good to know, can't wait to try it! Thanks, taffyg.
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Rob said on Mar 19, 2011 at 9:19 am...
In my opinion, this is by far the smoothest vodka for martinis. My favorite to enjoy Chopin is chilled straight up with blue cheese stuffed olives and a dash of olive juice. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
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taffyg2003 said on May 29, 2011 at 9:20 pm...
I did not try blue cheese stuffed olives, but I did have another Chopin martini straight up with pimento stuffed olives, and it was great! It really is some of the smoothest vodka around. As I've written previously, its only slight shortcoming is its total lack of flavor, which does produce a somewhat less tasty martini than some others. Regardless, it is amazingly smooth and enjoyable. After this martini, I have decided to re-rank Chopin to 5 stars instead of just 4. :-)
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lasousa said on Jun 22, 2011 at 3:12 pm...
Very good vodka.
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taffyg2003 said on Jul 08, 2011 at 8:00 pm...
I had another Chopin martini last weekend, and the unusual neutrality and delicacy of its flavor was highlighted. The bartender had added a bit too much vermouth for my liking, and Chopin did nothing to hide it. A bolder tasting vodka, such as Russian Standard or Stoli would likely have masked the flaw in the cocktail, but not Chopin. Perhaps, Chopin is a supreme vodka for sipping, but it is not very forgiving as a martini mixer.
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Accent said on Aug 24, 2011 at 9:54 pm...
I'm sipping this vodka neat right now and find it very smooth. It has some ethanol smell to it but after taking a few sips I can't recall vodka that's better than that. I'm surpised to see some reviews pointing out the burn and the price tag but sipping it at room temperature convinces me that it's a great shooter and a mixer (must be better when ice cold out of the freezer)
Overall, I think it's great for the price. Highly recomended. My favorite is still Ketel One (in that price range) although I always shoot it but for what you pay Chopin is up there.
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