I was recently on a business trip and stayed at the W Hotel. Well in the mini-bar was both Grey Goose and Belvedere Vodka. I don’t drink much – the occasional cognac or champagne maybe – and the last time I had vodka straight up it was some horrific Smirnoff crap that soured me on the whole concept. Anyway, long story short, since I am half Russian and I had nothing to do the night before my flight home, I tried these new “premium” vodkas and found I liked them. A lot. The bonus is that they don’t make me sleepy when I drink like other spirits do, and don’t leave me with a hang over the next day. But that may be due as much to not drinking a whole lot as anything else.

Regardless, I then started sampling other premium brands. And here’s what I’ve come away with so far. There’s 4 or 5 other brands I want…