Christiania Vodka Review
Posted by admin, Thu Jan 17 14:59:53 UTC 2008
The Urban Drinks crew recently convened to sample a new Norwegian vodka by the name of Christiania. While most of us at Urban Drinks are strongly opinionated about our gin, we nonetheless attempted the impossible. That is, we attempted to distinguish among a selection of four different vodkas in a blind taste test.
The taste test line up included three grain-based vodkas, including: Finlandia, Absolut, and Lubrication. Lubrication is an Oregon-based vodka and a bit under the radar, while the Finlandia and Absolut vodkas are obviously well known across the United States. Interestingly enough, Christiania is a potato-based vodka, which is a point of distinction among the crowded field of top-shelf grain vodkas.
The parameters of the taste test were simple. Each taster had no knowledge of which vodka was in each of their four identical glasses. The vodka was served neat with absolutely no mixers. The tasters had a selection of appetizers to routinely cleanse their palates and were given approximately 15 minutes to sample each of the four beverages. Additionally, the tasters were not permitted to discuss their opinions until the end of the tasting.
The results... Well, to my surprise, Christiania vodka placed either first or second with each of the tasters. Indeed, I was very surprised to see the potato-based vodka dominate the other grain based vodkas. Also of interest, Absolut was rated both first and last place by different tasters, which illustrates the inherent difficulty of distinguishing among this group of neutral spirits.
Personally, my preference for a potato-based vodka prior to the taste test was Monopolowa by Baczewski. Yet, Christiania was obviously more refined and less syrupy than the Monopolowa. It is however unlikely that Christiania would continue to convey its character or similarly dominate these other vodkas if it were mixed in a cocktail, as most people tend to prefer these days. In fact, the Christiania brand claims to have created the first sipping vodka, which is probably the best way to appreciate this spirit.
At least some of our tasters agree that Christiania is best served in its natural state, without any mixers getting in the way. While I too enjoyed the subtleties that Christiania had to offer, I'm likely sticking with gin. At least one distiller is finally returning to the proper ingredients for making vodka.