Smirnoff Penka

Solari · 28 Dec 2006 at 23:48

Just thought I'd give this stuff a mention.

As it was Christmas, I went a bit mad in the off-licence in preparation for Christmas day drinking around my sister's place. I got 2 bottles of Smirnoff Penka vodka, amongst other things and thought it was the smoothest stuff I'd ever tried.

Anyone else given it a go yet? 'tis luuuurvely

Gilly · 28 Dec 2006 at 23:51

I'd never heard of it until this thread. Best drunk with blood orange or beetroot :/

Is you want a smooth vodka try Belvedere. Not as nice as Grey Goose but certainly smoother

[edit]Its very expensive for what seems to be Smirnoff but a little better :/

Solari · 28 Dec 2006 at 23:54

I also had some Belvedere that day courtesy of a friend. This stuff is much nicer IMO, and goes down like water

Grey goose is also nice for cocktails, but again, I prefer this stuff to be honest

Ignore the beetroots and wurzels stuff - cola is nice, or just on the rocks!

Gilly · 28 Dec 2006 at 23:55

Grey Goose for cocktails??

This stuff is nicer??

Madman!!

Nexy · 28 Dec 2006 at 23:59

Gilly said:
I'd never heard of it until this thread. Best drunk with blood orange or beetroot :/

Is you want a smooth vodka try Belvedere. Not as nice as Grey Goose but certainly smoother

I prefer Belvedere to Grey Goose, but Grey Goose is good too. I've been pleasently supprised by Smirnoff Black Label and, most shokingly, Sminoff Norsk. Not really the same league, Norsk especially, but easier to get hold of.

One thing though, while drinking "normal" vodka from the freezer = win, try the more expensive stuff at room temperature. A lot of the more subtle flavours are lost when it's really cold, and that's why you're paying 4x the price. Oh, and the nicer bottles...

If you want something nice enough to drink that's dirt cheap, run "own brand" or "super-cheap generic Russian-sounding name like Chekhov" through an activated Brita-type water filter a few times. If the filter's new, run a couple of litres of water through it first. Supposedly the main difference between the cheap rubbish and decent vodka is the filtration, filtering it yourself gets rid of a lot of the crap that makes it undrinkable filth, filter it 4 times or so and it's perfectly drinkable straight, especially when cold.

Solari · 28 Dec 2006 at 23:59

Gilly said:
Grey Goose for cocktails??

This stuff is nicer??

Madman!!

Quite a few cocktail bars I've frequented up the west end use Grey Goose in cocktails.... *shrug*

Can't say I'm a massive vodka drinker but this is the only stuff I've come across that I can drink neat anyhow

Dark_Injection · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:00

My nan bought me a lovely bottle of vodka this xmas.

She got it when she went to Chinoble(sp?), not long before the Plant Breakdown, this being why she kept it as a like token.

I havent drank any yet but im expecting it to be lovely, never had official Russian Vodka before.

Btw does Vodka grow nicer over time like Whiskey?

hybrid · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:13

One of my mates used to drink Penka with milk/cream lol.

I've never tasted it before myself... but if you like Smirnoff's, then try a drop of Norsk lol.

Gilly · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:24

Solari said:
Quite a few cocktail bars I've frequented up the west end use Grey Goose in cocktails.... *shrug*

Grey Goose should be drunk over ice. It is by far the nicest vodka I've tried, with Belvedere a distant 2nd and Stoli back in 3rd. Putting it in cocktails is a way of charging you stupid amounts for it

The Smirnoff's I have tried (normal, blue and black label IIRC) are somewhere in the middle of the mid-range vodkas.

VeNT · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:34

Gilly said:
Grey Goose should be drunk over ice. It is by far the nicest vodka I've tried, with Belvedere a distant 2nd and Stoli back in 3rd. Putting it in cocktails is a way of charging you stupid amounts for it

The Smirnoff's I have tried (normal, blue and black label IIRC) are somewhere in the middle of the mid-range vodkas.

what about absolute vodka

Gilly · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:37

VeNT said:
what about absolute vodka

Probably a bit above normal Smirnoff

(IMO)

Nexy · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:40

VeNT said:
what about absolute vodka

The normal Absolut vodka I'd say is middle of the pack of the main vodkas, below normal red label Stolichnaya but above Smirnoff Red Label. I think Absolut do some super-premium stuff too, but I've not tried it, nor have I tried their range of flavoured vodkas (or rather, I don't remember trying them, I was pretty mashed).

Gilly · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:41

I'd probably put their flavoured vodka (or the ones I've tried anyway) on a par with the normal stuff. Its a very fine aftertaste you get

Nexy · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:52

The Kalashnikov I bought as a gift for someone that they're yet to receive, I got it because of the gimmick, I've no idea what it tastes like. I'm also yet to crack open the Krakus, but I'm told it's rather good, same sort of thing as Belvedere. The Smirnoff family are always welcome in my home, the rear bottle of black label having come from the freezer. The Blavod is just good fun, and if you're sick from it, you're vomit is green. Fun times! The picture in the background was one of my landlords that he left on the wall, it's waiting to go into the shed.

EDIT: I remember how I described Belvedere: "It's like the feeling on your tongue of kissing someone you like for the first time."

The crap on the far left is for additional filtration before being made into flavoured vodkas.

Gilly · 29 Dec 2006 at 00:55

What is Blavod like? I won a bottle from work and haven't opened it yet.

Nexy · 29 Dec 2006 at 01:01

Gilly said:
What is Blavod like? I won a bottle from work and haven't opened it yet.

Rough but not "own-brand" rough, it's got a distinctive after-taste and it's a nice gimmick, it's a slightly green shade of black, if that makes any sense. It's more "fun" than a serious vodka, makes for some crazy looking cocktails, great with some decent Orange juice.

afraser2k · 29 Dec 2006 at 01:04

Got a taste for the Norsk stuff at the moment, not really tried anything else other than the Smirnoff Red.

Gilly · 29 Dec 2006 at 01:04

Nexy said:
Rough but not "own-brand" rough, it's got a distinctive after-taste and it's a nice gimmick, it's a slightly green shade of black, if that makes any sense. It's more "fun" than a serious vodka, makes for some crazy looking cocktails, great with some decent Orange juice.

Nice one. We're going to be drinking it NYE I think.

Reckon freezing is good?

Nexy · 29 Dec 2006 at 01:10

Gilly said:
Nice one. We're going to be drinking it NYE I think.

Reckon freezing is good?

If you're drinking it straight, probably, but I've never tried making cocktails when it's oily-cold.

An assistant in Sainsbury's told me if you cut the top off a cider bottle, pour some water in and freeze it standing upright, then put the vodka bottle in and pour water around the sides, then freeze again, you make an awesome ice jacket that keeps your vodka cold throught the night. Also, you can put stuff in the water before you freeze it to make it look nice. I've never tried it, but always thought it sounded cool!

^>Cas<^ · 29 Dec 2006 at 01:15

Blavod is nice, but can create ****loads of puke

So, have a few buckets waiting, or atleast access to the toilet

Casmeister.