7 Vodkas Worth Drinking Neat
When it comes to alcohol, no spirit gets as much hate as vodka. For casual drinkers, it seems like a flavorless, boring spirit that deserves to be mixed into a cocktail with bold, vibrant flavors so it gets lost in the shuffle. In the most basic sense, it’s there to add booze to the drink and nothing else. If you look a little more into vodka, this idea couldn’t be further from the truth.
For those unaware, vodka is a distilled, neutral spirit made by fermenting various ingredients–corn, potatoes, rye, or wheat are most common, but there are also vodkas made with rice, fruit, and even whey. It’s usually crystal clear and distilled and filtered to have a light aroma and flavor. But to say that vodka has no aroma or flavor is completely wrong. (While the legal definition of vodka once defined it as “to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color,” that changed in 2020.)
Depending on the ingredients used to make it, the vodka might be creamy if it’s made with potatoes, soft and mellow if wheat is the main ingredient, sweet and memorable if corn is the base, or gently spicy and peppery if it’s made with rye.
All in all, myriad well-made, flavorful vodkas are well-suited for slow sipping neat, on the rocks, or with a few dashes of water.
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
There’s a reason Tito’s is one of the most popular vodkas in the United States, and it’s not simply because of marketing. This Texas-made vodka begins with a base of corn. Made in old-fashioned pot stills before being filtered through active carbon, this sweet, sippable vodka has a creamy mouthfeel and flavors of sweet corn, vanilla, and cracked black pepper.
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Chopin Potato Vodka
While it’s great as a base for your favorite cocktail, it’s difficult to beat the sipping appeal of Chopin Potato Vodka. The world’s most-awarded potato vodka, it has a creamy, smooth palate. On the nose, you’ll find notes of vanilla beans, green apples, and light spices. The palate is creamy, sublimely easy to drink, and loaded with more vanilla, caramel, cracked black pepper, and orchard fruits. The finish is crisp and clean with no residual harshness.
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Absolut Elyx Vodka
Absolut is a huge name in the vodka world. And while its classic version is timeless and perfect for mixing and rainy-day sipping, if you want a vodka to drink neat from this Swedish brand, grab a bottle of Absolut Elyx Vodka. Made using sustainable farming practices and single estate red winter wheat, it has flavors of white chocolate, butterscotch, fresh bread, light spices, and a gentle nutty sweetness.
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Ketel One Vodka
Ketel One is a very popular vodka for mixing and sipping. This award-winning Dutch vodka is made with 100-percent, non-GMO wheat. It’s distilled in copper pot stills, filtered through charcoal, and rested in tile-lined tanks. This creates a complex, flavorful vodka with notes of anise, orange peels, licorice, vanilla, and cracked black pepper.
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Bar Hill Vodka
To say that Barr Hill Vodka is unique is a ridiculous understatement. This award-winning, bartenders' favorite vodka isn’t made from wheat, potatoes, or rye. It’s made from pure raw honey. This creates a spirit with notes of vanilla, clover honey, gentle spices, and wildflowers. It’s sweet, floral, and well-suited for slow sipping neat or on the rocks on an unseasonably cool evening.
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WÓDKA Vodka
This popular Polish vodka is made from single-estate Dankowskie Golden rye. It’s column-distilled five full times before being filtered through charcoal made from Polish birch two times. Before you sip it, you’re met with a nose of rye bread, vanilla, citrus, and cracked black pepper. The palate is a symphony of flavors like candied nuts, peppery rye, vanilla, and gentle wintry spices. Sip it neat or with a single ice cube to warm you on a cool night. You’ll be happy you did.
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Reyka Vodka
Iceland’s Reyka Vodka an effortlessly sippable vodka. It’s made with wheat and barley, as well as glacial spring water and made in a distillery powered by geothermal heat produced by underground volcanoes. It has a complex flavor profile featuring notes of cracked black pepper, lemon peels, vanilla beans, cereal grains, and a nice minerality. Bartenders and drinkers alike love it for its reasonable price and full, balanced flavor well-suited for mixing into cocktails or sipping neat or on the rocks.
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