Zelko is another bottom shelf vodka that I’d never seen before. Continuing my push into the bottom shelf vodka reviews, I picked up a bottle.

The Shot

The shot is bitter from the outset. Zelko expunges the mouth of moisture and replaces it with bitter flavors. The swallow burns and makes my stomach turn to the point where it almost expunged its contents. The aftertaste was bitter, but I was too busy choking back the vomit to grab my chaser, which made matters worse. Do not shoot this vodka.

The Mixed Drink

After such a horrible experience with the shot, Zelco mixed with Welch’s Strawberry Breeze is a relief. It’s not that the cocktail is good. It’s that it’s better than the shot. Zelko almost completely masks the sweet flavors of the mixer. This isn’t even a mixer I could live with.

Opinions

Zelko is the bottom of the vodka barrel. I would avoid it at all costs. At such a low price point, there are better vodkas within a dollar of the cost of Zelko. I typically keep my bottom shelf mixers in the fridge in the rare event that there is nothing left to drink and no where to buy anything else. Zelko is getting dumped down the drain immediately.