Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit)

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Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) is a 40% ABV vodka from Russia. It is filtered with Charcoal. The vodka is produced by S.P.I. Group and imported by Allied Domecq Spirits. The quality is considered to be great. The average price is around $104.92 per 750mL. Rated 4 out of 5 based on 7 reviews.

The bottle states the following:

Stolichnaya Elit ЭЛИТ ВОДКА Ultra Luxury Russian Vodka.

Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review

4 StarStarStarStarStar

I originally wrote this review in July 2008. A lot of folks recently have mentioned that my info from 2008 Stoli bottles isn’t correct anymore. Russian market Stoli is produced in Russia, but outside markets are produced in Latvia. I use information from the bottle to populate details and don’t review very often. I have updated Stolichnaya with the information on the most current bottle, which acknowledges the Latvian production of the US market vodka. My local store doesn’t carry Stoli Elit, so I can’t verify the current labels and I have not updated Stoli Elit. I will confirm the next time I find a Stoli Elit bottle. –Robert, October 2018

I’ve stared at Stoli Elit for months. The only thing that kept me away was the $69.00 price tag here at the local ABC Store. It’s safe to say that this is the most expensive bottle of alcohol I’ve purchased. Since I was celebrating a special occasion and I had to review it eventually, I picked up the bottle.

For the record, I couldn’t post the price of this vodka in my database because it augmented the averages too much. It caused the more expensive vodkas to register as average price, which mis-represents the playing field.

The Shot

Unsurprisingly, Stoli Elite tastes just like Stoli. Stoli Elite is much smoother than Stoli, but that’s about the only difference.

The Mixed Drink

Stoli Elite is a great mixing vodka. It was completely undetectable in my Simply Orange Juice and Red Bull.

Opinions

Erin wanted me to note that this is the first vodka she’s been able to breathe after shooting before taking a shot without gagging. She said she couldn’t taste the vodka in her Simply Orange Juice and Red Bull.

Stolichnaya Elit is a good vodka. It takes all the good characteristics of Stoli and refines away all the bad. That said, I can find no reason Solti Elit should cost as much as it does. It would fit perfectly in the same price bracket as the ultra premium brands like 360, Chopin, Grey Goose, X Rated, and the rest. Instead, it gets slotted into some ultra-super-mega premium league with no other competitors that I’m aware of (which is probably for the best for S.P.I., because it drinks only as well as other ultra premiums).

If you have more money than you know what to do with, Stoli Elit is a great vodka. If you’re like me, don’t bother. There are better vodkas for about half the price.

Rated 4 out of 5.

Robert Brodrecht

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By R.Todd

    No Rating

    Why the hell would you pay $60 for vodka when you are going to mix with some ghetto ass shit like orange juice and some frat boy drink like red bull? What, are you 18? Real men, like myself, slightly chill vodka and then drink it straight. You WANT to taste the vodka.

    R.Todd

    Reply

    • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Coco

      It is great Vodka and you are right about it that drinking it straight is the proper way for such a expensive product. If you want to do some cocktail or other mixes then buy the normal Stolichnaya, it is good as well, but it is not that expensive that you should feel bad about mixing it with OJ or anything else. I would recommend to try out for 1/4 lime squeezed in to a glass and add two fingers of that vodka and top it with soda water, it is simple, fresh and fantastic drink for vodka.

      This Ultra Luxury Stolichnaya is the best Vodka I have ever tasted and I have tasted many of them, but this is the smoothest hands down!!! Taste it and you know what is that price for!

      Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Martin

    No Rating

    Best vodka I’ve tasted and the 50 euros (Netherlands) and two weeks waiting for the import were all worth it to the last drop. Serving it straight from the freezer and on rocks (combined even) this was the perfect way to spend a night pondering life and writing lyrics for my band and playing some smooth bass. Even my girlfriend (who can’t even handle 20% tequilla) found this vodka easy to drink.

    Too bad the bottle is empty now… Winner of best spirits in new york truly lives up to the title and the name.

    Martin

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Andrea

    No Rating

    Hi, I’m Andrea from Italy, I’m a bartender.
    I think Elit is a great vodka. Well, I love Grey Gose and Beluga for their fantastic flavour, but elit has more personality.
    I think grey goose is the best vodka to make a great Vodka Martini or Vodka Tonic but Elit is great with caviar and pickled gherkins.
    In the end, in Europe, Elit costs under 40 € (Grey Goose 22 €).

    Andrea

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By taffyg2003

    5 *****

    I had another Stoli Elit last night at a popular Manhattan restaurant. Not surprisingly, the bar was stocked with high priced vodkas, such as Chopin and Belvedere, but when I saw another opportunity to try Elit, I went for it. I watched the bartender mix the martini, and noticed that he simply poured Elit over ice, shook, then strained it into a martini glass garnished with olives. Perhaps due to the complete absence of dry vermouth, the cocktail was tasty but a little less smooth than I had recalled. Regardless, it was quite enjoyable, but not in the league of my favorite 6 star Crystal Head vodka martinis. However, Stoli Elit, along with Zyr, rank up at the top of my Russian style vodka list.

    taffyg2003

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By joe mazzo

    No Rating

    now I hve come fullcircle from CYR

    joe mazzo

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Chris X

    5 *****

    An outstanding Vodka, one of the best. Smooth and clean with a subtle spark of flavor. Great for martinis or mixers, but often expensive. The purity and refinement helps to reduce hangovers, according to a few of my friends. Unique bottle, great Vodka. 5/5.

    Chris X

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By peachykeen

    5 *****

    Possibly the best vodka I’ve had. There’s a tiny bit of room for improvement, if you consider the faintest of bitter flavours when drunk straight an issue. On a fine-grained scale, I’d probably give this a 4.8, but unless you’re being picky, it’s a 5.

    The vodka is incredibly smooth, with just the slightest burn. It shares some flavour with regular Stoli, but very much toned-down. I’m not sure if they intended for it to have flavour (some other top-shelf vodkas are much more neutral), but I actually enjoy it. It gives some character to what would otherwise be alcohol-water.

    One of the two vodkas I’m happy to drink straight (Crystal Head being the other). If you find a bar that serves it (in downtown Minneapolis, the two I’ve had it at so far were Prohibition and Ruth’s Chris), on the rocks with a twist of lemon or lime is plain delicious. I honestly haven’t felt the need to mix it much, although I did try a hair of Pinnacle Whipped, but a hint of any flavouring covers the vodka entirely.

    peachykeen

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Shanna

    5 *****

    My favorite joke about Stolichnaya is that you can only pronounce the full name after you’ve been drunk on it once. That said, I LOVE Stoli Elit. It is the only vodka I buy. I try to keep two bottles, one for show and one to drink, if at all possible; but invariably I end up giving it away as a gift. Unusually rare in bars, I’ve only seen it four times out and about: the Aria in Las Vegas; Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan; and my (now) favorite bar, the Bird in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. I will only go there now, since they serve Elit. I had it at a hotel in DC when I went for the inauguration, at $17.50 a shot; it was the first time I had seen it available to pour and had to have it. At the Bird however, it’s 8.25; a dollar more expensive than Gag Goose. It’s worth it to me. If there is an aftertaste after a drink mixed with Elit, your mixologist didn’t know what he was doing.

    Shanna

    Reply

    • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Robert Brodrecht

      I was my mixologist (if that is even an appropriate term for the slacker mixed drinks I make), so my lack of skill may have been the problem ;)

      Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Nick

    No Rating

    Stolichnaya Elit is extremely expensive but if u have the money its worth it. If your looking to spend a bit less imperia and zyr are also at the top of any list. All 3 go great mixed or straight.

    Nick

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By ron.moscow

    No Rating

    Top drawer vodka, worth every cent. Goes down real smooth. No need to mix it as it tastes refined straight up and cold.

    ron.moscow

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By EA

    No Rating

    Stoli Elit is intended to be a non mixing vodka. It should be taken straight up, after the bottle and the shot glasses have been in the freezer for a long period.

    If you are mixing it with OJ or red bull, I agree with you. You are better off with Grey Goose or Absolut and save yourself 50% of the price.

    EA

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By King Dad

    No Rating

    I was given a bottle Elit as a Christmas gift by my very well-traveled son. It is extraordinary! I don’t know what he paid for it but that doesn’t matter. I now have a super-premium vodka that I am very proud of and can very easily taste the difference. Last year, my other son gave me a bottle of Patron which in it’s own right an extraordinary drink.

    I will without a doubt continue to use my Absolute as my “normal everyday” vodka, but I sure will enjoy “my good stuff” after a tough day or with friends in my home. It is really, really good !

    King Dad

    Reply

    • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Robert

      That’s a great gift, King Dad! After you kill off your bottle of Elit, you may also be interested in trying Russian Standard Imperia if you can find it in your area. It’s also a great Russian vodka (typical Russian bite, but less pronounced to be more friendly to American palates), but costs less than Elit. It might allow you to get that “special occasion” flavor without needing quite as special of a reason to crack it open.

      Reply

      • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By taffyg2003

        I had the opportunity to try a Stoli Elite martini immediately following a terrific Zyr martini while out to dinner a couple of nights ago. In fact, I hadn’t finished the Zyr before the Stoli Elite was served at the bar. The two vodkas seemed very similar; very smooth, mildly bittersweet, and had a mild Russian-style bite upon swallowing. At first I thought that the Zyr was a little smoother. Then I thought that the Elite was even smoother as the martini warmed up a little. But then, I thought Zyr was smoother, and so on. Perhaps, the the Zyr martini was a little tastier (though still relatively mild in that regard compared to other good Russian vodkas), but they had equally mild bites on swallowing. MAYBE, Elite was the smoother of the two, but it was a very subtle distinction. In the end, like Zyr, Stoli Elite earned 5 stars. Comparing my other 5 star ranked vodkas, Elite (and Zyr) was a little less smooth than Crystal Head, but a little smoother than Americana Luxury Vodka. Elite (and Zyr) had more bite than Crystal Head, but about the same as Americana. Americana is the tastiest of the 5 star group, however. Elite joins a group of some very fine vodkas, indeed!

        Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Frank

    1 *****

    I just bought a bottle of elit… i find it tastes like crap… It tastes like the smirnoff bottles…. Then again i’m looking for the leased flavoured vodka possible. Which so far comes down to MSAV Signature vodka. Not so high priced, and you can practically drink it like water.

    This is based on me trying the following vodkas: Smirnof 40% vodka, troika vodka, Skull, Grey Goose, Belvedre, Elit, Ciroc, Pravda

    I’d rather be drinking: MSAV Signature or Grey Goose.

    Frank

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By printmaster11

    No Rating

    I enjoy all of my vodkas mixed and with that said Stolichnaya Elit is an excellent mixer however impera comes pretty close and is cheaper.

    printmaster11

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Chris

    No Rating

    It doesn’t matter how nice the establishment that you are frequenting, if you are having ANY vodka combined with a mixer, your trusty bartender is pooring you the well. The reason is because you won’t know the difference, and if you disagree with this, then you deserve to drink skol. Hopefully, the place where you are going has a premium well with either sobieski or wodka

    Chris

    Reply

    • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By taffyg2003

      @Chris, the reason that I know exactly what vodka was poured in each cocktail that I described in my previous post is that I was seated at the bar while the bartender made the drinks directly in clear view in front of me. In fact, he was enjoying my mini premium vodka martini tasting.

      Additionally, I have generally trusted the restaurants that I have been served vodka martinis. I actually can often taste the difference, and can unequivocally identify certain vodkas, such as Crystal Head, Ciroc, or Stolichnaya. Admittedly, some vodkas, such as Sobieski, Fris, and Svedka, taste similar enough to me that I would not likely know which of those three I were being served.

      Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By jusdit

    3 *****

    it wasn’t worth the $63.00. Standard Sobieski a lot better. I hadn’t had Tito’s! cbs

    jusdit

    Reply

  • Stolichnaya Elit (Stoli Elit) Vodka Review By Martinez Sisco

    No Rating

    I normally go for Stoli Gold. It’s an excellent served on the rocks, straight out of the freezer. Its super smooth and has a really clean taste. This will be my first time trying Elit. I have heard that it is so much smoother than Stoli Gold. If it’s true, then I am in for as real treat. I have it in the freezer and I am looking forward to the weekend. Elite on ice along with a Royal Punch Cigar. After which, I’ll return and give you my thoughts. The price here was $50, Washington, DC.

    Martinez Sisco

    Reply

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