If you thought the U.S. drank a lot of vodka, you should see Russia. The country is famous for their love of all things vodka and this week we got a taste of a “noble Russian vodka.”
Beluga Vodka arrived in its unmistakably Russian bottle. Clad with a Beluga whale on the front and intricate nautical details, the vodka gave off a premium feel before we even opened it. It also came with two of the fanciest shot glasses we’ve ever seen, which came in handy during our tasting.
In true Russian style, we drank our Beluga straight at first. At first sip, the vodka was surprisingly sweet followed by an intense alcoholic burn. As we kept sipping Beluga on the rocks, the vodka developed a dry taste that masked any flavor that we had tasted in the beginning. This wasn’t our favorite vodka to sip.
Moving on to the mixing. We added a splash of flavored seltzer to the vodka and it wasn’t a bad vodka soda. Add some fresh citrus and we could definitely knock a few back. The vodka flavor wasn’t overpowering and created a tasty balance between booze and mixer. Beluga is definitely a solid base for cocktails. At $40 a bottle, we wouldn’t stock it on our shelves but we would recommend it to the vodka connoisseurs in our little black book.
Have you tried Beluga? What is your go-to base vodka for your cocktails?