Grey Goose La Vanille Premium Flavoured Vodka, 70cl

Product Information

It’s distilled using a four-column still process and local, Polish water before being charcoal filtered and bottled. Everything from the delicious spirit inside to the classy, translucent bottle makes Belvedere live up to its name, which translates as “beautiful to see”.

Vodka has kept its title as one of the most popular spirits in the world for many years, which means there are hundreds of different brands to choose from. However, while there are more brands to sample than we could ever reasonably sip, there is a handful that is known for being consistently excellent.ABV: Alcohol By Volume — the percentage of ethanol in a beverage. The average vodka alcohol percentage is 40%.

As a brand, Hangar 1 likes to focus on attention to detail during every part of its distillation process. This small-batch vodka is produced in an old aircraft hanger near San Francisco in small Holstein Pot Stills and is a must-try for any vodka lover. While it might not be everyone’s first choice for a sipper, some of the best-tasting vodkas on the market are designed to be enjoyed in a cold glass with nothing more than an ice cube to bring out the varied flavor profiles.But if you enjoy the spirit more when mixed, a range of the best vodka-based drinks can be created with any brand on our list. Unlike many vodkas on the market (we’re looking at you, Smirnoff), Absolut contains no added sugar. This, combined with its premium taste and determination to use only the highest quality ingredients, positions the brand as our best overall vodka in the world. First of all, if you are new to extract making, we recommend that you begin with multiple samples. Why? Because it takes up to a year to make extract and, after waiting a year, you only have one extract to try. If there is something that you don't like about it, you will need to wait another year to try another single version. So, start with 5 or 6 (or maybe more!) smaller bottles. You can then try a few different beans and a few different spirits, so in a year you will have multiple results to compare all at once. Here's a recent review of vodka's for extract making that includes the vodka's listed here and a few more:

What spirit is best with what kind of vanilla bean? This clip from our extract making party might help: This cognac produces a wonderful vanilla extract. You will notice that we selected the VSOP (not the XO, which is more expensive) for our extract. If you are sipping a cognac like this, you will absolutely be able to tease out the richer notes of an XO over a VSOP, but we didn't think that the additional cost justified the result. Yes, and XO would make a wonderful extract but we didn't think the difference justified the 40%+ additional cost.

The Story

We reviewed brandy and cognac for extract making in one of our live extract making parties. Here is the clip: Proof: Another term for measuring the alcoholic content of a beverage. The proof is double the alcohol by volume (ABV) measurement.

Similar to tequilas with their silvers, reposados and anejos, a brandy and cognac are put into three distinct categories as well. 1)Very Special (VS) for a minimum age of 2 years, 2) Very Special Old Pale (VSOP) for a minimum age of 4 years and, 3) Extra Old (XO) for a minimum age of six years. Infusing vodka with fruits or herbs lengthens the creation process by around three weeks. These vodkas have much stronger flavor profiles than plain vodka and can be found on the market in different colors with varying aromas. It’s a similar process to what’s done when producing gin (as vodka and gin production start off the same way) and results in any number of different varieties. Flavored vodka Blend the vanilla vodka with Kahlua (or other coffee liqueur) and milk (or single cream, if you can handle the lactic overdose. Personally, I can’t) and pour over ice. Works so much better than it should. We can't wait to hear about what you have created and we hope you share the good and the bad with us! We love being part of your vanilla extract journey!When we put together this guide of the best vodka brands, we looked at all of the new vodka brands that have joined the market in recent years as well as those that have kept their title of success for a longer period of time. We looked at the process used for distilling the spirit, the number of times each bottle was distilled as well as any unique factors included during this process. When we began our cognac/brandy vanilla extract making journey, we truly believed that cognac would be the clear winner. Once again, we were wrong. And in this case, one of the least expensive options proved to be our very favorite. Here's why you may want to consider cognac instead of brandy for vanilla extract: If you are conducting experiments on the impact of vanilla beans in different spirits, then you want to hold the spirit constant. A Hennessy cognac from grapes only grown in the Cognac region of France and approved by Hennessy's rigorous tasting standards will provide you a consistent, standard spirit base. Try one with Tahiti beans and one with Mexican beans and you will clearly note the difference in the final extract based solely on the beans.