I tried it recently at a bar, a straight big shot, enough to evaluate. It’s definitely better than Grey Goose, clean and smooth, but with a slightly unpleasant bitter aftertaste that I didn’t really like. Good, but still not worth the price IMO, because there are much cheaper vodkas that are just as good or better.

Ketel One was the first vodka that I had an opportunity to try after I had recently discovered this forum and the notion that Grey Goose is not all that it has been cracked up to be. I generally drink vodka martinis straight up with olives, so I decided to share one made with Grey Goose and one made with Ketel One with my wife when we were out to dinner. First we tried the one made with Ketel One, and we were both very impressed how smooth and how little alcohol burn it had. Then we tasted the one made with Grey Goose, and felt that it was noticeably harsher, more bitter, and burned more on the swallow. It did have a little more flavor, however, which made the martini a little crisper, and altered the flavor of the vermouth and olives. The Ketel One was more neutral, somewhat oily, and essentially let the flavors of the vermouth and olives stand out, too. Ultimately, we both felt that Ketel One was a finer vodka than Grey Goose.

Since my Grey Goose had just been bested by Ketel One, I was eager to compare Ketel One to some of the other highly rated vodkas. Since this taste test, which occurred a couple of weeks ago, I have had the opportunity to also try Tito’s Handmade, Stolichnaya, and Crystal Head. Read about my impressions in the corresponding threads. I also tried a sample shot of Sobieski at a wine tasting last May, but it was under different circumstances than the other taste tests, so my impression is more vague; I guess I should try it again.

Snagged 2 one liter bottles in St. Maarten duty-free. Can’t beat two 1L bottles for $35! I prefer it over Grey Goose.

I had a Ketel One vodka martini last night for the first time in quite a while at a local restaurant, which was really nice. It was very smooth, mildly sweet, and had only a subtle bite. The aftertaste is the only part of this vodka’s character that is not superior, presenting a mild burnt rubber flavor. Regardless, the cocktail it made was VERY enjoyable.

As I have asserted before, because this great vodka is ubiquitous, it is easy to overlook it as pedestrian. However, it is anything but ordinary. When nothing like Crystal Head or some other exception and exotic vodka is available, I need to remember that Ketel One should be my go to restaurant and bar vodka.

Great vodka for straight on the rocks. Have not found one that I like better. Bit pricey.

This is my favorite vodka. I’ve tried many, although I have enough intelligence to avoid saying something as stupid as “I’ve tried them all.”

The taste is clean and inoffensive. I love that if I pay attention to it, the taste is pleasant, but if I don’t want to focus on the drink itself, I can enjoy it without my attention being unduly drawn to it. By contrast, I enjoy Ciroc, but I cannot drink Ciroc without my attention being diverted to the drink at every sip.

I only wish that Ketel One was not so bloody expensive. The cost is the reason I primarily drink Smirnoff, which is the “sweet spot” for me, being that it is relatively inexpensive, but still of decent quality.

Ketel one is smooth and sweet with an undertone of charcoal. It has a properly water like mouthfeel and hardly burns. It is mixed by some, but I don’t understand why somebody would mix it. It’s a 30 dollar vodka with the combination of earthly subtlety and graceful presentation that demands a neat glass. Its aftertaste is charcoal and wheat cream. Worth my time and worth my money, even if only for special occasions.

I tried Ketel One after trying Absolut, Absolut 100, Grey Goose, Stoli, and Smirnoff. Absolut 100 made me like vodka, but Ketel One made me *love* vodka. For the most part, I consider myself a purist of alcohol. I love craft beer, I love single malt scotch neat, I love mezcals and tequilas neat, and I love Ketel One all by itself as well. It’s very much worth the price and has become the only vodka I purchase. As soon as I have a bar, this will be my rail and my top shelf.

I kinda stumbled on kettle one and loved that I did. It’s very smooth, crisp and gentle on the swallow. I used to drink it straight on the rocks but got a little out of hand one night and decided straight up wasn’t right for me; however, club soda or tonic water and a lime sets kettle one as the best cocktail ever. It is very pricey but I found a 750 for $11 couldn’t believe at a mom and pop liquor store. I hope no one hips them to the cost

Ketel One simply on a pedistal of its own. This is an example of a delicious smooth vodka that has only been slightly affected by the designer vodka movement of the late 1990’s early 2000’s. When I think of vodka I think of Ketel One. This vodka is smooth with a pinch of earthiness that reminds you that flavor matters just as much as smoothness. This vodka is not only properly distilled but it’s consestint with its a flavor all the way through. I highly suggest making Ketel One one of your best vodkas in your personal bar collection.

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Excellent vodka so far. My favorite has to be russian standard vodka straight from Russia. It comes very close to this one. Ketel one is rich and taste good. Here in Canada it’s pretty expensive. Around 30,25$ for 25$ it will be ok. And just for 750 ml. Still i won’t complain too much since it’s among my top 3 of vodka!

I really enjoy this vodka. I agree with many of the other comments that it has a little bit of a bitter after taste, but it doesn’t bother me at all. In the mouth and down the throat is very smooth, and theres no real taste, unlike the other two I sampled tonight, Grey Goose and Belvedere. They both had kind of a weird taste to them. Maybe someone can confirm this but I think they have a different taste because of what they are made of?

Anyway, Kettle1 is by far the best I have tried so far, and half the price of grey goose.

I tried bottom shelf vodkas like smirnoff , absolut and skyy and they all were good mixers but bad shooters so I went to this site and saw the reviews and i planned to pick up a good shooter vodka so I went to the alcohol store and asked them what is top shelf vodkas they have and they give me 2 options grey goose and ketel one so I shoosed ketel one .
when I shoot it I was really impressed how smooth it was but I was not impressed whith the bitter finish of the vodka and that bitterness hold it from being a perfect vodka . Overall a great vodka for shooting and mixing but I won’t recommend to waste this vodka on mixing .
By the way this vodka is cheaper in my area (U.A.E, Ajman) or internationally noun by the name( Dubai), its about 18 $ for 1000 mL

Is it possible to buy Ketel One vodka in a 3 liter bottle?

This is very weird. I have a bottle of Ketel 1 that dates back to 1994, the label is soft brown instead of white and depicts a fire oven under a copper pot still.

It is bottled at 35% rather than 40%, and has a subtle almond aroma, and tastes like an old cabinet (Read: aged in some form of wood or oak… yet it isn’t oak, whatever it is).

It’s an extremely good Vodka that by all means was not flavorless.

I enjoy your reviews but seriously question your comments regarding this and other vodkas where you refer to them as “…flavorless.” I find nothing further from accurate. Ketel One, as well as many other vodkas, has a distinct flavor. As with most vodka from Holland, Ketel One has a slighlty earthy taste. Vodkas from the Nordic regions tend to have a slight sweetness to them, while Grey Goose has a lighter taste. Good vodka is similar to wine in that it takes on disctinctive characteristics depending on the soil type, water, and local climate. Don’t shortchange good vodka calling any of it “flavorless.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

I like Ketel One quite a bit. One of the better widely available vodkas. A very slight burn, but not unpleasant. Not a great mixer, but not terrible. I think you can do better for the price though, provided your store has a good vodka selection.

As with all my reviews, I’m sipping an ice-cold shot with no additions.

My initial impression? Very mild, quite neutral. A bit sweet. There’s a bit of burn going down, but not much. It’s not the smoothest vodka I’ve ever had, but it’s pretty nice. Also, the smell is very neutral, almost non-existent.

However, there’s a faintly unpleasant aftertaste that I can’t put my finger on, a bit pungent. A bit of lingering burn as well. Still, it’s pretty good quality stuff overall.

Having said that, it’s also pretty pricey at $24.59 for 750ml. It’s good, but it’s not that good. I’d give it 4 stars for taste alone, but taking price into account, I give it 3.

Hmm. I’ve tried so many better vodka’s than this. I’m not a huge bitter fan honestly.

Ever tried Dryfly vodka? Probably the best vodka I’ve ever had and you don’t have a review here.

The shot almost tastes like butterscotch, with a mild burn. No chaser needed. If you get a chance to review it, I would be intreseted to see what you have to say.

Yeah, I found some 375mL Chopin bottles on clearance for $7 a piece. Since they were old (the code on the bottom said 041206 which I’m guessing is 4 Dec 2006) I asked the manager “why so cheap?”. She said they were removing the display and needed the space. I bought both bottles for the hell of it, since I’d probably never spend the $30-40 for the normal 750’s. I’m beginning to wonder if the age or location (near a window) affected the taste. It has a slight taste that is just “off”. I can’t even describe it. Can sealed vodka spoil at room temperature if sunlight gets to it? I also grabbed an old Belvedere 375mL for $11 from that same display.

This is unrelated, but while I’m here… I finally got around to trying a potato vodka. This one is called Blue Ice American Vodka. I did the usual showdown versus Sobieski. It has less flavor to it than Sobieski. Wasn’t overly bitter or sweet or anything. Kinda blah-like, like potatos… go figure. Mixed well with OJ. Wasn’t bad with Diet Mountain Dew. Not exactly a bargain at $19.

Holy crap, I just logged on to tell you about Kettle One and I see this review. It’s pretty good but slightly bitter at the end. Closest thing it reminds me of is Stoli, but I think it’s better. It was on sale, so I finally grabbed a bottle.

I’ve come back to this vodka a couple of times. I’m sipping this after Russian Standard. Quite a bit less burn on the finish. I don’t mind the burn being a bourbon drinker primarily. Not as sweet as Svedka either. If you are looking for an entry vodka that won’t upset experienced vodka drinkers as well as those that want to mix. Look no further than Ketel One.

This is an extremely clean, inoffensive vodka. I find it very easy to drink neat. Definitely my favorite clean vodka. However, I prefer a little flavor, and actually prefer Smirnoff.

This is arguably the purest vodka on the market, at any price. Open the bottle, and have a sniff. There is no pungent stench, only subtle, refined tones.

Drinking it straight is a pleasure. It starts out soft, tasting nearly sweet. However, it finishes strong. You may feel a burn or detect a pepperish taste. It wont upset your stomach like Skyy, costs 40% less than G.G. and is truly top shelf.

Love the site! Cuz I love me vodka! I’ll have to snag some Ukrainian vodka next time we go and send it to you to try. I used to buy Ketel One maybe 15 years ago…when it was priced around $15-18 for 750 ml. I found Belvedere (when it was $22-24) a much better martini mixer. While I can tolerate Ketel One, I feel it does not have the quality warranting today’s pricing. If I’m going to spend that kind of money on Vodka, I’ll get Imperia for sure.

I just bought a bottle of Kettle One Oranje. I was a little apprehensive because I didn’t really like the lemon infused one. I’ve been infusing Kettle One myself with lemons ever since. Anyway I bought this “oranje” brand of Kettle, and it is a sheer delight on the rocks! I picked it up for $26.99 for a litre. Not bad for a great sipping vodka. So, if you like flavored vodkas that are not sweet, I highly recommend it. Thanks again for the nice forum.

For the price, I think Ketel is a superb tasting vodka. Very clean on the intro and finish. Lately, I’ve been drinking Ketel One Citroen alot. It is said to be natural lemon and lime. I have been mixing it with water and it is very refreshing. It tastes much better than Belvedere Citrus or Grey Goose Le Citron. And kicks the living crap out of Absolut Citron. Do a side by side and you will be amazed!

I am normally a bourbon drinker so my tastes usually have run to the sweet. I bought a small bottle of Ketel One just to try it. I found that after shilling and on a few rocks, the taste was smooth with a hint of the bitter you wrote about. I added a twist of lime a spash of water (Literally) and found a drink which I could consume nightly with ease. I like this and actually fely like an adult while drinking it (My kids would laugh but my parents-single malt drinkers might be a bit less in agreement). I enjoyed this vodka and I believe I will have to keep a bottle on hand. This si a great site by the way.

Drew

Good stuff! One of the better grain vodkas I’ve enjoyed, and a pretty good value to boot. It leans toward sweet and has a vibrant personality on the palate.

I thought Ketel on was very bitter. I was har to hold in my mouth due to the bitterness and burn. Once swallowed the burn quicly vanished but the taste remained. It mixed OK i could still detect a slight biterness

I did a side by side taste testing of 5 vodkas a while back with a bartender friend. Ketel One was BY FAR the absolute worst thing I had ever tasted at room temp! With that said… once ice cubes were added and it was cold it was my second favorite. So, note to self… don’t ever try to drink Ketel One at room temp! :o)

i drink a half gallon a night is that bad its only smirnoff

Excellent vodka! I spent years drinking that Grey Goose crap because that’s all my friends used to get at the club. I always thought that the stuff was bad. It just didn’t taste right. It was waaaay to bitter and tasted a lot like gin. Finally, one night we went with Ketel One because it was a fair amount cheaper. I was blown away by how good it was. It mixes so well that you forget there’s booze in your drink. A+++

EXCELLENT STUFF.DRINK WHAT TASTES GOOD.TO YOUR VERY GOOD HEALTH!