Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
- Posts
- 38,367
What's to say the "vodka" used in one brand of gin isn't better quality than another? Or are you dismissing all variances of vodka as well?
Like with all things, there's a bunch of production methods, ingredients, even packaging etc. that can be done differently to warrant a higher price.
vodka is ethanol and water. if distilled properly it should be the exact same in terms of quality. it's little things like the size of the still, flue, pipe, etc. what carbohydrate was used. little things which add a little "colour" to the vodka however quality should be relatively the same if it's done properly. it's why nobody should be spending more than 20 quid on a bottle of vodka. because russian standard is pretty much in terms of quality of vodka one of the best.
it's why if you give someone 5 shots of a "decent" (expensive) vodka like belvedere. then gave them a shot of russian standard. they wouldn't be able to tell it was a different vodka than before. because vodka if made properly should taste pretty much like any other vodka as it's pure ethanol and water. the water used probably has the biggest effect on taste and litttle things like the still, pipe, etc adding a tiny amount of "colour" to the ethanol.
so with gin you are paying for the flavour added rather than quality once you get past say the likes of Tanqueray, Hendricks, etc. once you hit that level of quality it's pretty much the top level of gin. after that if you pay 50 quid for a bottle. your basically paying 25 quid for the flavour added to it rather than it being a better quality. i'm not talking about cheap gin where yes they will be using cheaper stills, poor filtration processes, etc. but once you hit the 20-25 quid per bottle market that is basically the pinnacle. after that it's basically marketing you are falling for unless you really do happen to like a specific flavour profile. however i'd be willing to bet after 5 shots most wouldn't be able to tell what they were being given once the alcohol has kicked in as it effects your decision making process and taste to the point the little differences are hard to distinguish.
you even said it yourself. you are paying extra for packaging, etc. rather than the actual quality of the drink. marketing has ruined the spirits market. marketing basically says ciroc mango is the best mango vodka. chances are if you were to do a blind test with absolut mango which is half the price. you wouldn't be able to tell unless you exclusively drink and know the flavour profile of ciroc mango. it's nothing to do with the mango ciroc uses being better but you know the taste like coke vs pepsi but that gets harder to distinguish unless it's significantly different the more drunk you get.
for instance all whisky tastes the same to me. i'm not a fan of whisky. i've had bottles which cost like 3 quid all the way up to several hundred pounds. for instance a few months back i was given a shot of royal salute. then a shot of jura. i couldn't tell any difference. but thats because i'm not a whisky drinker. for someone to say royal salute is much better quality than jura and that is why it's 5-10 times the price i would refute that and say it's down to flavour profile derived from the barrels the whisky was soaked in. the quality of jura is of a decent whisky and will likely be pretty much the same as royal salute. it's just that royal salute has been in different barrels and for a longer period of time. which is why it tastes different.
different taste =/= better quality
it just means it tastes different. so when people say recommend me a decent gin. it's impossible to do as nobody knows what flavours you or the person you are buying for really likes. so it's marketing which tells you. you will like this one.
for example i met some guy at a party and he said "I won't drink anything but grey goose" stating it's the only vodka he could drink which didn't make him feel sick. It was farcical, but that is the power of marketing. As all vodkas essentially are the same thing ethanol and water.
so basically it's impossible to recommend a specific make as being better than another when you don't know the drinkers favoured flavour profile.
it's much like asking who makes the best packet of salt and vinegar crisps. just because you like mc coys doesn't mean everyone does. so you recommend mc coys and the person who has never had salt and vinegar takes that specific flavour profile to be the best and this repeats ad infinitum. same thing happens in spirits world.
i'd love to see all these gin drinkers do blind testing for instance with 30 different gins from the 20 quid and upwards bracket. with someone pouring the same exact amount of spirit and whatever mixer into each glass. blindfolded or poured in another room. then asking them what they thought. they only need to take 1 sip from each glass not neck it.
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He had Gordons gin at the BBQ so we tried some of the Millers with lots of ice, lime and water or something - it was delicious! Not sure how I could describe the taste but it was quite refreshing. Certainly opened my eyes. Nice one 
