Grey Goosed - Ain't that a b*tch?

Wassup, Y'all!

A few of you 'on it' readers may have already peeped last week's 20/20 on ABC where they conducted an unscientific taste test of the best vodka brands out there to see if their taste measured up to their hype (and premium prices). The results were pretty eye opening so since my boy 'Tini Mack has ushered me head first into the world of martini drinking, I thought it best to share the results so we can all be more informed drinkers...

So here's the set up - Bill Ritter gathered six young New Yorkers together at the trendy Blue Fin bar on Broadway (side note: If you're ever wandering down Times Square check that joint out. It's in the W Hotel and populated with some of the smokingest city shortys I've seen - dressed to impress and drinking like fish - a combination hard to beat, y'all). The window below faces out onto Broadway so even if you don't go in you can stand on the sidewalk and gawk at the beautiful people). Each of the six was a self professed snob vodka drinker who only scarfed the best, top shelf, premium vodkas - Stoli Elite ($59/bottle), Ketel One ($29.60/bottle), Belvedere ($32/bottle), Hangar One ($35/bottle) and our hands down favorite status vodka Grey Goose ($32/bottle). Just for the homeys in the alley, ABC decided to include the bargain basement, wino mouthwash Smirnoff ($13/bottle) in the competition. Each drinker was given a small shot of each vodka neat (straight and at room temperature) and asked to rate them. Here's where it gets interesting, y'all...

After swigging and rating, 5 of the 6 rated top dog Grey Goose the worst (even a few who swore by the brand). They dropped foul comments like 'spicy', 'nasty' and 'I would never drink that'. Hmmm, all this for a brand that bills itself as the 'World's Best Tasting Vodka'? Say it ain't so!! Although there was no clear winner among those sampled, Hangar One and Belvedere both came out with favorable reviews. But wait, there's more!

They followed that taste test up with another - a mixed drink test where they mixed those same brands (including the rot gut Smirnoff) into small Cosmopolitan samples. Guess what, y'all? None of the six could tell which sample contained their top shelf brand and which contained the moonshine Smirnoff! Damn. Given that mixed drinks with top shelf vodka run $3/$4 dollars more per drink than those mixed with house vodka, seems to me the smart play is to go with the full bodied, flavorful, well balanced Smirnoff and stop frontin' with all that Grey Goose this and Grey Goose that. But that's just me...

'Tini Mack! Homeboy, I won't hold it against you if the next time I dip to the crib you've got your Grey Goose bottles topped off with Smirnoff (maaa fact, those joints probably already are!) but just recognize that if I peep the empty Smirnoff bottles in the trash that's going to effect the flow rate of singles into the tip jar, man cuz Homey don't play that! I only drink the best spicy, nasty vodka!

Peace@Least,

Tyrone