[eucariote]

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i see this everyday at my bar, someone orders a Kettle and 7 or a Goose and cran. when are mixing a Vodka with anything else you won't taste or feel any difference from a bottle of Absolut...Fact is people think more costly is always better.

Vodka is supposed to be a neutral spirit, so taste differences, if any, should come from additives.  Every bar owner should put Popov in their bottles of Ketel or Grey Goose or whatever - http://consumerist.com/2008/05/vodka-is-pretty-much-the-same-no-matter-what-brand-you-buy.html
 
P.S.  Billy - I love your Chi-flavored avatar.  Go Bears. 

 
There was actually a very similar story to this wine one regarding vodka.  A tasting panel tried 21 vodkas without knowing what they were drinking (most were fairly expensive).  A cheap bottle of Smirnoff was also included for good measure- and the panel ended up choosing the Smirnoff as their hands-down favorite!  I saw another similar story somewhere about Gin, and Beefeater (another cheapie) was the favorite.  You know what's in my liquor cabinet..  

 

[DeusEx]

Behavioral economics in action.

 

[haloxt]

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People sometimes say that some testing methodologies are preferable to DBT, but the steps taken in those other tests can be adapted to work within the framework of DBT. All DBT does is try to minimize false positives.

Im curious which/why.

What do you mean which/why?

 

[khaos974]

This more or less confirms what I thought, while it is not always relevant to rank wines and spirits in oder of price (more relevant for wine though), it is indeed possible to distinguish then in DBT conditions. And as far as Smirnoff is concerned, IMHO (not blind), it is one of the most neutral Vodka contrary to some other cheap brands which are not always properly distilled, I have not tested  thoroughly more expensive stuff, I shall endeavor to do so for New Year

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There was actually a very similar story to this wine one regarding vodka.  A tasting panel tried 21 vodkas without knowing what they were drinking (most were fairly expensive).  A cheap bottle of Smirnoff was also included for good measure- and the panel ended up choosing the Smirnoff as their hands-down favorite!  I saw another similar story somewhere about Gin, and Beefeater (another cheapie) was the favorite.  You know what's in my liquor cabinet..  

 

[Prog Rock Man]

What this shows with hifi and wine is that you are paying as much as if not more for the label.

 

[drew.haynes]

Idk how I feel about the vodka one. Yeah, vodka shouldn't have a FLAVOR, but different grades of vodka most certainly vary in smoothness. I've had stuff from a plastic bottle that will instantly make me have a sore throat, quite literally. Whereas if you go with something like Fris, which is still cheap relative to most, you instantly make it past the general stage of "tears my throat apart". Then another slight step up to my favorite - Tanqueray Sterling (yes Vodka, not gin!) - smoother again. This can be found for ~30 USD for a 1.75L. Beyond THAT though and it get's hard to differentiate, to the point that I WOULD believe my mind is choosing to like one or the other.

 

[terriblepaulz]

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Idk how I feel about the vodka one. Yeah, vodka shouldn't have a FLAVOR, but different grades of vodka most certainly vary in smoothness. I've had stuff from a plastic bottle that will instantly make me have a sore throat, quite literally. Whereas if you go with something like Fris, which is still cheap relative to most, you instantly make it past the general stage of "tears my throat apart". Then another slight step up to my favorite - Tanqueray Sterling (yes Vodka, not gin!) - smoother again. This can be found for ~30 USD for a 1.75L. Beyond THAT though and it get's hard to differentiate, to the point that I WOULD believe my mind is choosing to like one or the other.

When you had your reactions to the different vodkas, did you know what you were drinking (i.e. did you see the bottle)?  My throat gets sore just looking at a plastic bottle of liquor 

.  I too have experienced different tastes in vodka, but then again I'm a sucker for an attractive label.  

 

[tmars78]

While we are on the vodka kick. Mythbusters did a segment on vodka a while back. They tested several myths surrounding the libation, including a myth that you can filter cheap vodka several times to produce high quality vodka.
[size=1.083em] So they bought the cheapest vodka at the liquor store and filtered it 6 times through a carbon filter like Brita. They then did a taste test comparing each iteration of filtered vodka (1-6 filterings) and include a top shelf brand (not filtered), presumably Grey Goose.[/size]

[size=1.083em] One of the taste testers was some guy who’s a bonified expert on liquor. The expert taster did a blind tasting and accurately rated all the samples. The unfiltered cheap vodka came in last, the sample filtered only once came in next to last, the one filtered twice came in third to last, and so on, with the top shelf brand coming out on top.[/size]

 

[3602]

Didn't some folks do a "water tasting" thing, with different labels and "brands" and whatnot but all that water came form the same Gorram garden hose? The customers actually tasted a difference.
Same thing applies to TF.10 "upgrade" cables, where the cable is twice the price of the TF.10 itself. :scratches chin: Link may be provided through PM.

 

[3602]

[Double post]

 

[drew.haynes]

The cheap stuff was just handed to me in a cup one time, so I didn't know what it was unless my brain subconsciously assumed it was cheap based on my environment, haha.
 
Also, I will say, in case there was any question.. my observations I mentioned were all drinking the vodka entirely unmixed. If you are making screwdrivers or something the difference between say Fris and Sterling are pretty negligible if evident at all. Don't forget to add the lemon juice!

 

[TheAttorney]

So looking at the thread as a whole, there is no simple answer.
 
Some people do get swayed by a label and price
Some people fail to spot real differences (like single malt v blended whisky (with correct spelling

))
Some people allow a DBT result to overrule all other considerations
Some people (not many on this particular forum) don't rate DBTs as a reliable method in certain cases
Some people rate Smirnoff as better tasting than more expensive vodkas
Some people, including me and most of Poland, would rate Wyborowa as easily better than Smirnoff
 
The bottom line for me is:
If I was in a wine tasting DBT and chose a cheap wine as best, I would immediately go buy a bottle or two to try at home.
If I then found I still liked it, then I'd buy a few cases - because I'm always looking out for good value everyday wine.
But if I didn't enjoy the wine at home, then I wouldn't keep buying it just because it won the DBT - I'd go back to the wine I know works best for me.
Same with hifi.
 
The second bottom lime for me is:
The more "trendy" a commodity is, the more likely you'll get some overpaid investment banker going for an undeservedly expensive label just because they can!
This has nothing to do with taste. They're just showing off.

 

[estreeter]

Just go and tell someone in the High End Audio forum that your $200 'wine' is superior to the 'wine' they just shelled out $1500 for, then come back and tell us how that went. I doubt that anyone here is immune to brand aspiration - I want a  Luxman amp, current or vintage,. but I wouldnt have bought the brand when it was owned by Alpine. If that makes me a wine snob, then I had better tear up my Lotto tickets now. 
 
(Apologies to Vinnie at RedWine Audio - I'm sure you have a sensational vintage )

 

[khaos974]

On the other hand, if you stumble upon an exceptional $30 wine and introduce it to your wine loving friends, they will probably thank you.

 

[TheAttorney]

khaos974, very true.
 
Better still, if someone introduced me to an exceptional £5 bottle of wine, then I would give them unconditional, undying love