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Greatest vodkas at a look
Greatest vodka for a dry martini: Absolut Elyx, £34.89Best vodka for a celebration crowd pleaser: Ciroc vodka, £30.99Best sustainable vodka: Black Cow Vodka, £26.99Best vodka for an espresso martini: Portobello Street espresso bean vodka, £27.95Best contemporary vodka: Penderyn Brecon 5 Black, £32.90Best Polish vodka: Potocki vodka, £35.50Best vodka for beer lovers: Adnam’s Longshore vodka, £34.99Best distinctive vodka bottle: Crystal Head vodka, £41.95Best uncommon vodka: Chase English oak smoked vodka, £42.30Best vodka for sipping: Sipsmith sipping vodka, £30Best fruity vodka: St George all objective vodka, £40.95Best London vodka: East London Liquor Firm vodka, £26.75
The very best vodka to purchase 2025
Absolut Elyx
Greatest vodka for a dry martini
Star ranking: 5/5
Absolut Elyx falls on the luxurious finish of Swedish outlet Absolut’s providing. It is certain to be a mainstay of upscale bars in years to come back, because of its affability with dry vermouth and its slick bottle, designed by London company Stranger & Stranger. The elegant butteriness you anticipate from a wheat-based vodka comes via on the palate, together with candy and nutty notes. It pairs brilliantly with a good-quality Martini vermouth, equivalent to Dolin.
Out there from:Amazon (£34.89)Ocado (£44.50)
Ciroc Premium vodka
Greatest vodka for a celebration crowd pleaser
Star ranking: 4/5
Inevitably, Ciroc was going to make this checklist. The French titan is uncommon in that it is a vodka comprised of grapes versus a grain. French grapes are made right into a wine which is then five-times distilled to provide the vodka, which rose to celebrity vodka fame when it was celebrated by music mogul Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. Regardless of being comprised of grapes, Ciroc is understood for its delicate citrus end, without delay crisp and clear. That is one to be served as an uber chilly shot.
Out there from:Grasp of Malt (£31.75)Amazon (£30.99)Sainsbury’s (£41)
Black Cow Vodka
Greatest sustainable vodka
Star ranking: 4/5
Black Cow Vodka is considering manner outdoors of the field, producing spirit from milk. It is a marvel of sustainability and innovation: when making cheese, milk is separated into curds and whey. The whey usually finally ends up wasted – so as an alternative, Black Cow ferment and distil it into vodka. The tip result’s as creamy as anticipated with a smattering of pepper sprinkled all through an virtually buttery character. That is wonderful with soda and a slice of grapefruit.
Out there from:Amazon (£26.99)Grasp of Malt (£28.95)
Portobello Street espresso bean vodka
Greatest vodka for an espresso martini
Star ranking: 4/5
At the very least 3kg of potatoes go into making every bottle of Portobello Street vodka. This explicit expression from the distillery, famed for its award-winning gin, includes steeping Colombian espresso beans in vodka-filled espresso pot stills for twenty-four hours earlier than the liquid is then redistilled. The tip result’s a vodka with that morning espresso aroma, a scent which is carried via to a creamily clean palate. It is a vodka crying out to be made into an espresso martini.
Out there from:Amazon (£26.97)Grasp of Malt (£27.94)
Penderyn Brecon 5 Black
Greatest contemporary vodka
Star ranking: 5/5
Penderyn Distillery is a Welsh powerhouse, knocking out alcoholic delights from its idyllic premises within the Brecon Beacons. Offered in a hanging bottle as black because the charcoal the five-times distilled vodka is filtered via, you’ll wish to maintain this in your shelf lengthy after it’s completed. Freshness is a personality which runs wealthy via the distillery’s providing, as you’d anticipate given the bucolic base and the contemporary glacier water used. The general profile is clear, crisp and as subtly peppery as it’s fruity. Get pleasure from over the rocks or with tonic and a slice of lemon (within the solar, after all).
Out there from:Grasp of Malt (£32.70)Amazon (£25)
Potocki vodka
Greatest Polish vodka
The previous decade has seen loads of vodkas hiding behind highly-massaged advertising tales, however amongst them are some true gems – with loads of heritage. Potocki has one of many strongest histories in distillation, with unique paperwork tracing its manufacturing again to 1784. The spirit right this moment is comprised of rye and is calmly filtered earlier than bottling to retain its energy of flavour and basic earthy end. A ‘should strive’ on this checklist, for high quality, consistency and historical past alone.
Out there from:The Whisky Alternate (£35.50)
Adnams Copper Home Longshore vodka
Greatest vodka for beer lovers
If there’s one factor that Adnams know a factor or two about, it’s beer. With nice brewing data comes a passion to experiment with totally different grains and the Adnams Copper Home, a gleaming distillery which appears just like the embodiment of a Jules Verne novel, has produced this vodka utilizing barley, oats and wheat. This offers the ensuing vodka a creamy however deliciously peppery word.
Out there from: Adnams (£34.99)Amazon (£38.95)
Crystal Head vodka
Greatest distinctive vodka bottle
One of the crucial eye-catching bottle designs to ever be produced – not simply in vodka, however the spirits world normally – Crystal Head has been developed partially by comedy legend Dan Aykroyd – as soon as a Ghostbuster, now a spirits maker! With the bottle made by Bruni Glass in Italy, the spirit inside is quadruple-distilled then filtered via quartz crystals, which have come to be often called Herkimer diamonds. Hints of minerals add depth to this real gem of the spirits worlds.
Out there from:The Whisky Alternate (£41.95)Amazon (£54.11)
Chase English oak smoked vodka
Greatest uncommon vodka
Not all vodka comes from mainland Europe and this smoked version, made in Hereford, is enhanced by delicate notes from ex-Scottish whisky casks from the island of Islay. It has a slight caramel color to it, taken from the oak barrels during which it has laid slumbering for a variety of months, leading to a style extra akin to a mezcal than a vodka.
Out there from:Amazon (£42.30)
Sipsmith sipping vodka
Greatest vodka for sipping
The chaps at Sipsmith arrange their small operation in city West London in 2009 to distill in conventional copper pot stills: the primary folks to take action in almost two centuries in London. One other small staff making a spread of spirits, their now-famous gin is very acclaimed, and so is their vodka. Distilled utilizing their 300 litre nonetheless named Prudence, it’s an English rose of a vodka.
St George all objective vodka
Greatest fruity vodka
Primarily based in California, the chaps at St George are really experimental. This vodka is born of a ardour to create a extra ‘regular’ vodka to work with soda, tonic and in a Martini, and so they obtain this through the use of pear juice which is combined with a grain base. And scrumptious it’s too. Easy is the phrase of the day right here.
Out there from:Grasp of Malt (£40.95)
East London Liquor Firm vodka
Greatest London vodka
Made utilizing 100% British wheat, this hidden gem is made a brief stroll from Mile Finish station within the very coronary heart of London’s East Finish. Their distillery can be a restaurant, bottle store, bar and a spot the place you possibly can even distill spirits your self. It truly is a playground for the adventurous drinker, and their vodka doesn’t disappoint. It’s pretty much as good over ice as it’s with tonic.
Out there from:Amazon (£28)The Whisky Alternate (£26.75)
What’s vodka comprised of?
Simply what vodka is is as easy or as advanced as you need it to be. Merely, it’s a combination of ethanol and water, a impartial spirit. Whenever you look below the hood, vodka is loads extra: it’s characterised by its base substances, it is the bottom of myriad well-liked liqueurs. To know the complexities of vodka, it is important to know how this shottable, mixable and sippable spirit is made.
Vodka includes fermenting absolutely anything with a sugar or starch content material – equivalent to rye, wheat, potato, or molasses – and distilling the pulp to provide ethanol which is then combined with water. The flavour is within the element.
What’s the most effective mixer for vodka?
The way you wish to get pleasure from your vodka will depend on the night you wish to have. Tonic paired with a citrus-hued vodka will make an extremely refreshing drink. Greater purity vodkas, ones which have been distilled a variety of instances, are crisp, clear and gratifying over ice or served straight from the freezer. The bow-tied elephant within the room is the Martini (shaken, not stirred), and right here it’s open season; in the event you favor a creamier character, then deploy a potato vodka. If you need one thing extra peppery on your subtle, serve then flip to a rye-based spirit.
How we examined vodka
We style examined vodkas in a wide range of methods: served neat and from the freezer, with tonic and, inevitably, in an array of cocktails. We have been searching for smoothness (on the lesser finish of the spectrum the spirit can style like simply that: uncooked alcohol diluted with a spot of water) and a definite flavour profile, a personality which might make you select one vodka over one other.
Vodka cocktail recipes
Put your bottle to good use in one among our vodka cocktail recipes, whether or not you are after a basic combine or new spin on this timeless spirit.
Bloody maryCosmopolitanWhite russianLong island ice teaSex on the beachPassion fruit martiniVodka martiniAll our greatest vodka cocktail recipes
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This evaluation was final up to date in January 2025. You probably have any questions or options for future evaluations, or spot something that has modified in value or availability, please get in contact at [email protected]. For info on alcohol tips, learn our information to ingesting responsibly.
