Full Review

Stalinskaya

Stalinskaya
Gold Vodka

Category: Unflavored Vodka

Date Tasted:
Country: Romania
Alcohol: 40%
91 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$28

Stalinskaya
Gold Vodka

Category: Unflavored Vodka

Date Tasted:
Country: Romania
Alcohol: 40%
Opaque clear color. Aromas and flavors of cucumber and melon skins, wet, salty limestone, and vanilla wafer with a round, crisp, dry light-to-medium body and a long finish with accents of saltine cracker and toasted sesame. A rounded mouth feel and just a hint of minerality will delight Vodka drinkers.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Rich & Full
Aroma Aroma: cucumber and melon skins, wet, salty limestone, and vanilla wafer
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with accents of saltine cracker and toasted sesame
Smoothness Smoothness: Normal
Enjoy Enjoy: in cocktails, neat and on the rocks
Cocktail Cocktails: Bloody Mary, Moscow Mule, Vodka Martini
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A rounded mouth feel and just a hint of minerality will delight Vodka drinkers.

The Producer

Prodal 94 SRL

The Producer
1st, Drumul intre Tarlale Street
Cernica, Ilfov, 077037
Romania
40 -21 529 47 00

Their Portfolio

90 Stalinskaya Vodka 40% (Romania) $12.00.
91 Stalinskaya Gold Vodka 40% (Romania) $28.00.
87 Wembley London Dry Gin 40% (Romania) $12.00.
85 Wembley Strawberry Pink Gin 37.5% (Romania) $12.00.
88 Wembley Crown Gin 40% (Romania) $28.00.

Unflavored Vodka

Spirits Glass Shot Clear.jpg
Serve in a Shot Glass
Unflavored vodka is defined in the US as a "neutral" spirit devoid of color, aroma, and taste, however, the finest unflavored vodkas are served neat and do have a subtle taste, sometimes of the base grain or ingredient, citrus or even anise. But most vodkas are used for cocktails, often mixed with fruit juice (cranberry juice for Cosmopolitans or orange juice for Screwdrivers.), tonic, or soda for the ubiquitous bar-hopper favorite Vodka & Soda. To which craft bartenders these days like to say, "vodka pays the bills."

Unflavored vodka is made by fermenting and then distilling the simple sugars from a mash of pale grain or vegetal matter. Vodka is produced from grain, potatoes, molasses, beets, and a variety of other plants. Rye and wheat are the classic grains for Vodka, with most of the best Russian Vodkas being made from wheat while in Poland they are mostly made from a rye mash. Swedish and Baltic distillers are partial to wheat mashes. Potatoes are looked down on by Russian distillers, but are held in high esteem by some of their Polish counterparts. Molasses, a sticky, sweet residue from sugar production, is widely used for inexpensive, mass-produced brands of Vodka. American distillers use the full range of base ingredients, but most are made from the abundant supply of corn from the US heartland.