Oddka is relatively new to me. When I first saw it, I scoffed. The idea seemed pretty ridiculous, mainly because the mascot, Wit Oddoski, is a gimmick. He is an animated character that exists in the real world. Something like that. The look of the marketing material makes me think of the Whatchamacallit commercials from the 80’s / 90’s. To boot, Oddka came in some nonsensical flavors, like fresh cut grass. Yeah, weird, right?

Then I found out Wyborowa, a little known but exceptional vodka (if I remember correctly from all those years ago), is the company behind it. So, I figured I shouldn’t write Oddka off completely.

The Shot

Surprisingly (or not, given the connection to Wyborowa), Oddka is a pretty decent vodka. It’s flavorless in the mouth, almost like water. There is an ever-so-slight bitter taste on the swallow, but the vodka is very smooth. I don’t need a chaser for single shots, but after sipping on this vodka for a bit, I kind of like something else to swallow behind it. But that’s faint criticism for a vodka this good for this cheap.

The Mixed Drink

I made a screwdriver with Oddka at one part vodka to two parts OJ. The vodka slightly bitters the OJ, but overall is a perfectly acceptable cocktail. It’s on par with most other decent vodkas, and I imagine it’d work well in any cocktail.

Opinions

I was skeptical of Oddka, but I walked away surprised. It’s a very competent entry for the price. That said, Sobieski, another Polish vodka, is much more palatable and costs several dollars less than Oddka. While I won’t be swapping to this vodka as my go to low cost vodka, I wouldn’t feel bad if it was the only vodka around.