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“I do believe that vodka is vodka and that those high-priced brands in the fancy bottles are just a form of downpouring at the distillery level and are not worth the price,” wrote author Bryan McDonald.

We are convinced that the two greatest scams of the last decade are boutique bottled waters and luxury Vodka, with Vodka essentially being the spirit world’s version of water, where its chief attributes are its neutral character and the ability to mix easily with other ingredients and fade into the background. In fact, the last thing you want a Vodka to do is have any distinct flavors. It’s fine if there is a pleasant and faint scent or ethereal flavors, but any obvious notes are considered flaws. So why then are people paying lots of hard-earned cash on what is essentially the simplest of products? In a word: