One of my favorite perks of having a blog is when I get free stuff. And one of my favorite free things to get is booze. I’ve been on a good run, as of late: I’ve received free tequila, free shochu, and now free vodka!
When it comes to sampling these fine spirits, I usually employ the assistance of my friend Sly, but given that she was out of town for the past week and that I was in dire need of vodka beverages, the show had to go on without her. No worries though. Sly was represented quite well by none other than IndianJones, who was only more than delighted to sample the wares (devout readers may remember that IndianJones was present during my first free booze offering, Red Stag by Jim Beam).
Our review of the vodka after the jump…
First things first: the bottle. Vodka has taken on a sleek persona of late with brands such as Skyy and Effen adopting minimalist, cool designs. The more high end vodkas (Grey Goose, Belvedere) have slightly more ornate bottles, but again, tastefulness reigns supreme. Blue Angel, however, looks silly. With its heavenly cloudscape and golden halo, it all feels a bit tacky. Nearly everyone who’s seen the bottle in my apartment has either chuckled, rolled their eyes, or expressed disdain over it. Needless to say, my hopes were not terribly high for this vodka.
IndianJones happily poses with the bottle before pouring himself a drink. He’s quite excited, but of course you wouldn’t know that.
A humble vodka tonic is in the works.
IndianJones successfully pours the vodka. A major feat, consider both his tiny hands and his occasional clumsiness.
The test…
Success!
IndianJones reexamines the bottle and says “Huh. This stuff is pretty good.” In IndianJones-speak, that’s about as high a compliment he can give without busting out his Masshole phrases (“That’s so WICKED AWESOME”) which are generally reserved for Patriots or Bosox plaudits.
As it turns out, despite the ridiculous packaging, Blue Angel vodka was QUITE good. I too enjoyed a vodka tonic, and it was so smooth and tasty, I was shocked that it even came out of that bottle. There is a major caveat though…
Three nights later, IndianJones and I were about to go out to da club, and in an effort to pre-game a little, we decided to do shots. I should add that we actually already had been pre-gaming, which might explain why we opted to pour two vodka shots without chilling the vodka in any way. Yes, we did room temperature vodka shots, which is not a terribly uncommon thing, but I tell you, we both agreed that these were two of the worst shots we’d ever had. In fact, it took all the focus and mental power in the world to make sure those shots stayed down.
Ultimately though, I’m not sure how much of that is the vodka’s fault and how much is ours. I wasn’t about to conduct further scientific tests. Instead, I cleared out a space in my freezer and gave the Blue Angel bottle a new home:
Don’t let our stupidity sway you. It’s good vodka. But only when ice cold. (I guess that’s the way it always goes, though)
You can’t test a liquor by mixing it with tonic water. That’s like “testing” a bottle of wine only to mix it with orange juice before drinking. Taste it neat like a man.
Good to hear someone has the sense to realise this vodka is AWFUL headache inducing stuff. As for the bottle design, it is as ugly as Maurice Kanbar, it’s creator.
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