Vodka Review: Skyy by Robert
- Rating
- out of 5 shots
- Bang For The Buck
- 4 out of 5 shots
- User Rating
-
2.7778 out of 5 shots
- Rate It Now!
- Average Price
- $13.99 per 750 mL / See By State / You add a price you've seen if you join VodkaBuzz.
- Percent Alcohol
- 40
- Distilled From
- Grain
- Times Distilled
- 4
- Charcoal Filtered
- Yes
- Other Processes
- Reverse Osmosis
- Produced By
- Skyy Spirits
- Website
- Skyy
- Cap Type
- Plastic Screw On
Identifying Features
Slightly translucent (almost opaque) blue bottle.
Written on the Bottle
This super premium vodka is made with the finest American grain. Skyy's proprietary four-column distillation and three-step filtration process consistently ensures exceptional purity.
Review
Skyy was my college vodka. It was cheap enough to afford, and beat Aristocrat without a doubt. One thing that has always caught my attention was Skyy's wonderful ability to chill. Compared to other vodkas, it seems to get even closer to freezing. If you leave a bottle of Skyy in the freezer for a day and leave it out for a few minutes, the bottle will start to frost up on the outside. The same thing happens with a shot poured in a glass. Skyy gets thicker when chilled than other vodkas, too. This probably attributes to the frost effect. Whatever the case, I attribute these to the quality, whether it means the water content is higher or some unknown factor.
The Shot
Skyy vodka tastes smooth. There is very little hint of flavor, and virtually no bitterness. Skyy seems to freeze well, making the liquid thick. It swallows well with a slight burn on the way down. The aftertaste is a very soft bitterness, but it is somehow pleasant. At full chill, this is a good shooting vodka.
The Mixed Drink
I mixed with Sugar Free Rock Star. Skyy is a great mixing vodka. It blends well with the mixer, and doesn't seem to reveal itself very much.
Opinions
Erin disagrees with my assessment on the mixed drink, stating that Skyy is detectable and leaves a slightly bitter after taste. She declined to shoot it.
While I favorably review Skyy, lets be honest. This vodka is best fresh from the freezer. Keep it chilled, serve it chilled, and drink it before it starts to warm. All the lovely qualities of Skyy go south fast when it loses the super-freeze. They call it super-premium. If it is, it's on the lower end of the spectrum if it gets warm.
If you see the following form, please ignore it.
Comments On Skyy
Ben said on Mar 17, 2009 at 10:28 am...
This was my 4th vodka. After consulting the Internation Wine Center's 2003 study of vodka consumption in the US, 7 brands were listed with significant marketshare. (Smirnoff 17.3%, Absolut 10.8%, Stolichnaya 4.5%, McCormick 4.4%, Popov 4.3%, Skyy 4.1%, and Barton 3.6%.) The combination of that data and the fact a friend said, "Skyy is like the Bud Light of vodkas," is what made me try Skyy. Wasn't bad, wasn't great. Reminded me of Smirnoff, but without the urge to regurgitate upon swallowing.
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Austin said on Apr 12, 2009 at 11:22 pm...
I would never drink this straight, however when I have guests over and they require some sweet mixed concoction I pull out the Skyy. Its a great mixing vodka, in orange juice or some other type of juice its virtually tasteless. On occasion I will mix myself something differing from my usual martini. For the price its almost unbeatable, I would put it around the Three Olives if I owned a liquor store...
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vegasvodkalover said on Sep 13, 2009 at 7:37 pm...
I love skyy vodka - especially the natural infusions raspberry - its phenomenal. The regular version of skyy is OK - but this raspberry infusion is a great vodka choice for cosmopolitans or a cranberry/raspberry juice mixed drink. The fruit flavor is natural and real tasting-not fake or artificial in any way. Like my other favorite vodkas: ketel one & svedka - this does not leave you with a nasty hangover in the morning. =)
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Stoli_hands_down9 said on Oct 01, 2009 at 2:31 pm...
Personally I don´t like this Vodka at all, sure is cheap and for sure if you asked between Absolut or Skyy I would say Skyy however I think there are better alternatives.
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Robert said on Oct 02, 2009 at 6:54 pm...
I definitely agree. Sobieski and Svedka take the cake here for vodkas in the same general price range. But I have an affinity for Skyy. It was my college go-to vodka afterall. So, that's the worst I can say.
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taffyg2003 said on Jan 31, 2010 at 9:42 pm...
I had a limited choice of vodkas for a martini at a restaurant for dinner last night, so I figured that I would try Skyy. I had my usual Vodka martini straight up with olives. The drink smelled neutral, and the initial flavor was, as well. It started out pretty smooth, with only a fairly mild burn during the swallow, but there was a moderate bitterness that lingered well after the swallow. The bitter aftertaste seemed to get a little stronger after the first few sips, and ultimately developed into a mild peppery bite. It wasn't bad, perhaps a bit like a much more neutral tasting and much less peppery Absolut. I suppose that it was more similar to Belvedere; no sweetness with a bitter slant (though less than Belvedere's), and it burned a little less but added the mildly distasteful peppery aftertaste. In the end, I would opt for the Skyy over Belvedere, and am rating it just ahead it on my vodka rating list. Here is my updated list to date:
1) Crystal Head 2) Tito's Handmade 3) Ketel One 4) Sobieski 5) Stolichnaya 6) Skyy 7) Belvedere 8) Grey Goose 9) Absolut
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Robert said on Feb 04, 2010 at 12:29 am...
@taffy it's interesting to see Skyy beating out some of those premium brands in your martini quest. Thanks for continuing to share your adventures (and for your good grammar :).
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Fred said on May 16, 2010 at 12:50 pm...
If you were to choose from either Skyy og Smirnoff (red) what would you choose? (the cost is the same)
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Robert said on May 17, 2010 at 8:47 am...
I haven't done a side-by-side comparison (and I haven't had either in awhile), but I'd probably go with Skyy for fruity drinks. Good Russian vodkas have a desirable bite, whereas brands like Skyy attempt to be neutral in flavor. I don't know if I'd call Smirnoff a "good Russian vodka", or say that Skyy was completely successful in coming up with a neutral flavor, but I'd go with Skyy.
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Matt said on Jul 11, 2010 at 10:24 pm...
Skyy tastes like straight ass. Horrible taste and aftertaste. Might as well go with Smirnoff or Grey Goose for the extra buck.
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James said on Aug 11, 2010 at 6:10 pm...
Skyy is very neutral in flavor. The development of this vodka is well documented in books, and the chemist behind it used deionized water and very finely filtered industrial ethanol to make this brew, unlike other vodkas that use natural water sources with dissolved minerals. This is more of a vodka for mixing than for cosmos or martinis. We drank a ton of this stuff in college, and although I feel like it is a high quality product, I prefer Russian-style vodka like Stoli for strong mixed drinks.
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bigcor23 said on Aug 18, 2010 at 1:48 pm...
I find Skyy Vodka to be very bitter and burns on the way down. Not a very smooth drink. Best used as a mixer rather than a shooter.
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teduardo said on Dec 27, 2010 at 9:48 am...
Skyy is a hard one to rate, cause it is only good in very specific situations, but in the right situation it does the job pretty well. I would not drink Skyy for shots. I would not drink Skyy in a martini. However, chilled Skyy in a sweet mix drink is pretty decent. It disappears in orange juice, and it is cheap, so it was the vodka of choice for parties when I was younger and less discriminating. Nowadays there are better cheap vodkas, like Sobieski and Titos, so no real reason to buy Skyy anymore.
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AZWolverine said on Jan 12, 2011 at 9:35 pm...
Very clean with barely detectable alcohol on the nose, also a hint of pepper. The taste is fairly sweet, with a round & creamy texture. Alcohol heat on the back end with a mineral character. I like it.
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moose_potato said on Mar 20, 2011 at 4:13 pm...
Aight, so as a college student i'm not gonna say i'm a vodka connoisseur, however skyy isn't a bad vodka. Last week i picked up a bottle of the citrus infused stuff, and it provided with a slightly ethanoly initial taste, but then the lemon flavor came and made it pleasant. Overall i would give the shot 3 stars, it wasn't as good as svedka but it was still pretty good. I'm going to try mixing it and making a moscow mule, maybe then i'll write another review.
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sting.ruffoni said on Dec 24, 2011 at 3:05 am...
Go with Sobieski, it beats the hell out of both of them.
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taffyg2003 said on Jan 27, 2012 at 3:57 pm...
said on Dec 27, 2010 at 9:48 am...
Teduardo wrote on 12/27/10:
"Skyy is a hard one to rate, cause it is only good in very specific situations, but in the right situation it does the job pretty well. I would not drink Skyy for shots. I would not drink Skyy in a martini. However, chilled Skyy in a sweet mix drink is pretty decent. It disappears in orange juice, and it is cheap, so it was the vodka of choice for parties when I was younger and less discriminating. Nowadays there are better cheap vodkas, like Sobieski and Titos, so no real reason to buy Skyy anymore."
I agree. Skyy is one of the vodkas that developed a reputation for quality that is well above what it deserves. It is due to good marketing, and less competition during its introduction to the U.S. in the 1980s, I suppose.
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