Ving exudes Southern California. The brand is rooted in the SoCal vibe in a way that I haven’t really experienced before. The Ving website is flush with celebrity, high energy fitness, and the ever-sunny outdoors. As I sit back in Alabama sipping this vodka, I miss the several years I spent in the San Fernando Valley. Ving is setting me up to channel Runyon Canyon hikes, drinks in Hollywood, and flashing lights as I speed down the 101.

Straight

Ving is a great corn vodka. I was expecting sweet with very little burn, and Ving delivers everything I want from a corn vodka. There’s a little extra to Ving that I don’t normally get out of a corn vodka. I can only describe it with an analogy. When you really savor a piece of dark chocolate, there’s almost this alcohol taste with a punch of bitter sweet. That’s what Ving has over other vodkas. Then Ving follows up with a smooth finish.

Ving Vodka is sweet with a punch of complexity, and it’s sippable if you like to drink vodka straight.

Mixed

Ving has a bunch of compelling cocktails on their website. I tried to make a few of them, but I’m afraid my expectations outpaced my abilities. They sound great, but I suck at making drinks. So, instead of failing at mixology until I ran out of this excellent vodka, I tried the one cocktail I knew I could get right: a screwdriver.

Ving is really good in a screwdriver. The sweetness dials up the orange juice and, a rare feat, made the OJ taste better. I ended up making a couple.

And, for once, I did what my gut told me. Quit trying to make drinks and just enjoy the vodka straight, the way I like it. So, I did that instead.

Final Thoughts

Ving is an excellent vodka. It mixes great, but I spent most of my time enjoying it straight. If you have a better mixologist than me, you’ll probably find an excellent cocktail, but that excellent cocktail is the result of having an excellent vodka.