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Vodka is under-appreciated. Despite its ranking as the most popular spirit in the world, many alcohol connoisseurs still reach for whiskey or gin over vodka. But James Bond’s drink of choice deserves more attention.
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Vodka has a classy side that’s brimming with premium brands ripe for sipping neat, drinking on the rocks, or mixing in upgraded cocktails. If you’re a casual drinker, high-end vodka can help you make the best martinis, Moscow mules, and screwdrivers on the block. If you’re a liquor buff, premium vodka is an untapped treasure trove of new flavors and brands.
Diving into the vodka world is about as intimidating as winter in Russia. To help out, we’ve sampled dozens of the best (widely available) vodka brands and read other expert reviews for all of them to put together this list of the best vodka brands worth trying right now.
We love Reyka because it can do it all. The Iceland vodka — made using wheat, barley, and naturally-purified glacial spring water — tastes superbly crips with a balance of citrus, pepper, and some sweetness to round things out. This makes Reyka a real experience to sip neat, but the price point is also low enough that we don’t feel wasteful by using it for everything from martinis to mules.
$32
One of the best top-shelf vodkas worth its higher price tag is Harridan. The women-owned vodka brand is made from corn in Ovid, New York in small batches, and it’s bottled overproof at 44% ABV. But, despite this higher proof, Harridan is still an absolute pleasure to sip on the rocks, featuring rich creaminess and plenty of sweet fruitiness on the palate.
$65
The ultra-high-end is more elusive with vodka than, say, whiskey, because there’s just less of it. But we think all vodka connoisseurs (or connoisseurs-to-be) should sample some of the really, really good stuff at least once. If you haven’t yet, try this Chopin Family Reserve. After it’s distilled, the Polish potato vodka is rested in 50-year-old oak barrels for two years. The result is an incredibly smooth vodka that still has plenty of flavor — mainly in the form of a unique earthy sweetness.
$123.99
Buy chopin family reserve at caskers
Although Stoli has a complicated relationship with its Russian roots (the brand changed its name from Stolichnaya in 20222 in solidarity with Ukraine), it’s still one of the best examples of classic Russian vodka — and a staple in our vodka lineup. Stoli is another vodka that upgrades any cocktail — be it an espresso martini, a Cosmo, or a lemon drop — but it can also be sipped neat if you’re in the mood.
$35
If you’re looking to sample a premium vodka not found in your average bar, check out the Austrian brand Neft. Delivered in eccentric mini barrel bottles (that are also insulated), it’s sure to stand out on any bar cart. And the liquid inside is exciting too. It’s on the earthy, oily side with a bit of rich, spicy citrus to lift it up, and really shines when chilled in the freezer.
$31.99
Tito’s is a best-seller for good reason. The Texas-based corn vodka is smooth with a characteristic sweetness, some pepper in the back, and a wonderful creaminess throughout. This creamy sweetness makes Tito’s one of the more distinct vodkas, which many (ourselves included) like, but some find it overpowering in cocktails. If you don’t already know what side you’re on, we recommend finding out.
$26
If you’re looking to drink like Russian royalty, pick up a bottle of this Beluga Gold Line vodka. The brand is not the high-end version of a big conglomerate. They only make one thing: ultra-premium vodka. Beluga Gold Line is Beluga’s best bottle, utilizing artesian water, malt, and five levels of filtration in the freezing Mariinsk distillery of Siberia. The flavor is unbelievably soft and silky smooth with notes of grains, wheat, alpine herbs, and a hint of sweetness. The bottle itself is also unique (and great for gifting) with a sealed wax cap that’s opened with an included hammer and brush tool. Enjoy this stuff ice cold and neat with some caviar for the true Russian nobility experience.
$144
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Grey Goose’s characteristic smoothness has made it one of the most popular premium vodka brands in the world, and it’s easy to understand why. The mellow flavor and smoothness make it ideal for crisp, delicious martinis, but, if you want a liquor that will take a backseat in more ingredient-heavy cocktails, Grey Goose will oblige.
$34
Belvedere is a high-end Polish workhorse. It’s smooth enough to sip straight or on the rocks but affordable enough to keep stocked for regular evening cocktails. The creation process is simple – Polish Dankowskie Rye, quadruple-distilled – yielding an equally minimal, elegant vodka. There’s not much to be said about the flavor of Belvedere, which is exactly why it’s so good in cocktails. Mix up classics like martinis, gimlets, and Moscow mules, or get more adventurous with craft cocktails such as the Belvedere Bramble or French Martini.
$25.99
This Fog Point vodka from Hangar 1 is possibly the most high-end you can go in the mainstream vodka market. Surprisingly, the ultra-premium vodka doesn’t hail from Russia or France: It comes from California, utilizing the local ecology for one of the most unique creation processes around. The water used in Fog Point is exactly what the name suggests. Fog catchers (apparently those exist) convert that famous coastal California fog into water. This water is then mixed with distilled wine from the nearby Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier region of California. The result is a conversation-starting bottle of top-notch liquor with notes of pear, citrus, and honeysuckle.
$138
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Suntory (Japan’s liquor giant) killed it with its whiskies and its Roku gin, and it did the same with Haku vodka. Sticking to its Japanese heritage, Haku is made from white rice, which yields a crisp sweetness and a mouthfeel that many liken to sake. This is a great one to drink on the rocks, but we love it most in a martini or other strong, alcohol-forward cocktail.
$28
This Crystal Head vodka has looks and brains (so to speak). The premium vodka was launched fairly recently in 2007 by actor/entrepreneur Dan Aykroyd and quickly became a success story – largely thanks to the incredibly cool skull bottle. This unmarked, eye-catching bottle makes Crystal Head a piece of bar decor as well as a quality drink. As for the vodka itself, the base ingredient is peaches and cream corn grown in Newfoundland. After distillation, the liquor undergoes an extensive seven rounds of filtration, including filtration through Herkimer diamond crystals. It’s a pure, high-end drink worthy of its packaging.
$50
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Nikka Coffey is another Japanese brand known for exotic whiskey made in special continuous column Coffey stills. This vodka adopts the Coffey still for vodka, producing a very smooth, high-quality product. The base ingredients are corn and barley which are refined with white birch charcoal into batches of varying ABV. These batches are then blended, yielding a vodka with zesty notes, rich sweetness, and a milky finish. Nikka vodka can be enjoyed straight, but we think it’s best in creamy cocktails such as white Russians.
$47
Buy nikka coffey vodka at reservebar
Vodka variations aren’t as clear-cut as most liquors. However, there are a few pieces of information worth getting familiar with before picking a new bottle to try.
Base Ingredient: Some vodka is still crafted from potatoes, corn, or fruit, however, the vast majority is produced from grain such as wheat, rye, or sorghum. Wheat is certainly the most common, but each gives a subtly different flavor. Corn vodka like Tito’s, for instance, is generally sweeter than traditional wheat or rye vodka like Stoli.
Water: As vodka is so simple, the purity and origin of the water used in vodka production hold high importance. This water is utilized during the dilution stage of vodka production, reducing the ABV to bottle strength.
Flavoring: Flavored vodkas have surged over the past decade, but most of them are inexpensive and artificially flavored. High-end flavored vodkas, in contrast, apply top-notch flavoring processes and ingredients to modify the flavor.
Region: Russia and Poland are seen as the traditional powerhouses of vodka production, however, Sweden and France actually lead international vodka exportation by a considerable margin. Other regions have courageously joined the competition too, including Japan, Canada, Italy, and the U.S. Origin holds vital information, as climate plays a part in vodka production – whether it’s the fog of coastal California or the chill of Siberia.
We tasted dozens of our favorite vodkas to create this list and cross-checked out experiences with reviews from other experts and non-experts alike. We also served many of these vodkas to our non-expert friends to see which ones they preferred. When selecting vodkas to sample, we stuck with widely available labels that you can order online from almost anywhere.
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