Vodka is the one spirit where a cheap bottle can be a smart buy. It is not aged, so you are not paying for years in a barrel. Most of what separates a cheap vodka from an expensive one is how smooth it is on its own, and the brand on the label.
First, decide how you will drink it
- With juice, soda or energy drinks. Buy the cheapest one you like. Orange juice, cranberry or lemonade covers almost every difference between brands.
- With a light mixer, like soda water and lime. Step up one level. You will taste the vodka more, and a harsh one shows.
- Cold and straight, or in a martini. This is where spending more makes a real difference.
The everyday tier
Svedka, from Sweden, Pinnacle, made in France, and Fris are the big bottles people buy for parties. They are clean enough to mix and cheap enough to pour freely. New Amsterdam is a step smoother for about the same money, and many people find it the easiest of the low-cost bottles to drink with a light mixer.
The step up
Smirnoff is the name everyone knows, and it is the safe choice if you do not know what your guests like. We wrote a separate guide to Smirnoff sizes. Tito's, made from corn in Austin, Texas, is the bottle most people ask for by name. Ketel One, made from wheat in the Netherlands, is softer and a good choice for a vodka martini.
What the labels do not tell you
"Distilled five times" or "filtered through charcoal" sounds good, but it is not a quality grade. Every vodka is distilled and filtered. What matters is whether you like the taste, so the cheapest way to find your bottle is to buy a small size first.
Proof matters more than the marketing. Most vodka is 80 proof. A 100 proof bottle is stronger, so pour less.
Buy the big bottle
A 1.75 liter handle pours about 39 standard drinks. A 750ml bottle pours about 16. The handle usually costs much less per drink, so if the bottle will be finished, the handle is the better buy.
On our shelf right now
Online prices, read from our own inventory when this page was built.