“Vodka is such a polarizing spirit for bartenders,” says Arvid Brown, co-owner of Room for Enchancment in Portland, Maine. “So many flip their noses up on the concept of it as a base spirit, but so many people nonetheless find yourself promoting quite a lot of it.” The previous few years have seen a gentle progress of appreciation for vodka cocktails, although, and Brown says that a number of bottlings within the spirit class are distinguishing themselves as greater than only a “essential evil.”
Working example: The vodka Martini is not an abomination within the eyes of in-the-know bartenders; the oft-maligned drink is lastly getting the eye it deserves.
In comparison with a gin Martini, these ordering a vodka Martini “aren’t all the time on the lookout for huge taste,” says Piper Kristensen, beverage director at Place des Fêtes in Brooklyn, the place the vegetal, savory home Martini is vodka-based. However a superb vodka can nonetheless present nuance and “character,” as Kristensen places it, with out “placing up an excessive amount of of a battle. It’s a good needle to string.”
To seek out the bottles that match the invoice, we requested a handful of bartenders for his or her high picks. Listed below are 5 vodkas price searching for out on your subsequent Martini, at each value level.
