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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Joanne Gould

‘Dreamy in a dirty martini’: the best vodkas, tested

Martini cocktail with a green olive on a gold-coloured tray
Shaken or stirred? Or you can just enjoy some of these vodkas neat. Photograph: Natalia Van Doninck/Getty Images/iStockphoto

It’s the basis of countless cocktails, a party punch favourite and inexplicably added to creamy tomato penne pasta, yet vodka rarely seems to be given its due. While it may not have enjoyed a “ginaissance” like its juniper-based cousin – or seen the same trend-led uplift of rum and tequila – Wine and Spirit Trade Association data shows vodka is the UK’s biggest-selling spirit by volume.

“Too often people just buy the cheapest vodka as they believe it doesn’t have flavour,” says Dawn Davies, buying director at the Whisky Exchange. “Vodka has plenty of flavours, especially if you don’t choose one that has been distilled 100 times over. If you like a cream texture, then a potato-based one is good; for a bit more spice, try rye; and for fruitier notes, apple or grape.”

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