Stumbras Premium Organic Vodka takes home the top prize at this year’s New York World Spirits Competition.

Earlier this year a panel of expert judges convened in a nondescript hotel convention hall in Brooklyn to assess merit across all major categories of spirit. It was part of the annual New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, which in just several iterations has already grown into one of the city’s premier tasting events.

We’ve spent significant time covering the top-rated whiskies from that competition. It included several jaw-dropping surprises, all of which are worthy of exploration—if you fancy aged spirit. Now we’re going to venture into the realm of vodka. But first we must address the elephant in the room: how does one define greatness in a category that is flavorless by design?

Well, for starters, vodka isn’t flavorless, exactly. It is often conflated with neutral grain spirit, but that’s a vast oversimplification. And an outdated one. Vodka doesn’t even have to be made from grain at all. It can be distilled from vegetables, fruit, honey, starches—we’ve seen compelling examples come from all sorts of base ingredients. And it certainly doesn’t need to be neutral in flavor or aroma. If you have doubts, you ought to consider cracking open a bottle of the very expression that the New York Wine & Spirits Competition dubbed the best of 2023: Stumbras Premium Organic Vodka.

The inaugural organic vodka from Lithuania is meticulously produced. Originating as wheat from an organic farm situated in the midst of the Baltic country, the post-distillation fluid undergoes a proprietary filtration based on linen. This filtration method reportedly endows the vodka with its distinctive smoothness and mild thickness.

It’s open to discussion if there’s a hint of gimmick involved. However, the irrefutable fact is that the fundamental wheat adds a delightful sweetness to the taste buds. This sweetness is sustained into the aftertaste, leaving one to contemplate the flavor’s residual tones. Indeed, we are mentioning flavor—in vodka.

Just to clarify, this is not about flavored vodka. In reality, Stumbras excels at that too, particularly a cranberry version which was acclaimed by the New York judges for its standout bitter undertones. With over 115 years of experience, the company certainly knows their stuff.

It’s relatively easy to locate their award-winning organic product on American shelves, with a price tag of roughly $20 a bottle. The aforementioned nuances of its taste profile make it a natural companion with tonic or soda, ideally served over ice. This is particularly true if you’re adding lemon or lime to the mix, as the sour and bitter elements of citrus contrast the wheat-derived sweetness of the vodka.

Or do the unthinkable: try the 80-proof spirit neat. Maybe you’ll be able to call out some of the same grassy aromatics in the liquid that won over those contest judges back in Brooklyn. Perhaps you, too, will call it one of the more interesting vodka on shelves today. But what you won’t be able to do is call it flavorless.

LITHUANIA – NOVEMBER 25: Mill, Open air ethnographic museum, Rumsiskes, Dzukija, Lithuania. (Photo … [+] by DeAgostini/Getty Images)