massive rebrand
This is a review of Nemiroff vodka from Russia. I sampled it in Germany in 2011. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, and I thought it was pretty solid.
Apparently, Nemiroff vodka has recently been featured in a popular music video. So because I wanted to see what everyone was talking about, I ended up watching a semi-nude woman bounce around a futuristic Russian bathhouse for five minutes:
And sure enough the bottle of Nemiroff was there, but it turned out to be Nemiroff Lex, the brand’s ultra-premium edition:
And now I got this line stuck in my head: Gaga-Uhlala. But since I had already bought this bottle of Nemiroff Original vodka, I decided to give it a try.
the .vodka domain
So I went to nemiroff.vodka to see what they’ve been up to. I liked that they used .vodka as their domain ending, and I liked the slick-looking design of their site:
Two issues, though: First of all loading times were pretty long. Secondly, Nemiroff, just like many other vodka brands, claims to be this old company with 150 years of history. And just like in the case of many other vodka brands, this is not entirely true. Nemiroff might be using some techniques that go back to 1872, but the company was founded in 1999.
This doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just a marketing issue.
One thing I noticed on the site was the massive brand overhaul they had apparently just recently gone through:
It’s normal for liquor brands to update their bottle design every now and then, but this kind of complete rebrand isn’t that common. I liked the new bottle design, though. But I think I would have had a hard time recognizing it.
infused or what?
One thing I didn’t understand on their site was how it said that Nemiroff Original vodka had been DELICATELY ACCENTUATED WITH CUMIN AND NATURAL HONEY:
I asked the company what this meant, and they told me that Nemiroff Original did indeed have some aromas added to it:
“Originals – is vodka special, which includes honey and aromatics as cumin (flavor). Process of the aroma spirits production for special vodkas with aromatics is similar to perfumery. We’re using copper alembics stills.
The master distiller can take different parts of aroma to achieve needed result. For delicate aroma it should be head fraction of distillation, for bold & deep aroma – the heart, tail fraction is used to achieve just a hint. Aromas don’t have a color, they’re intense in aroma but not in a flavor.”
Nemiroff Original vodka is solid
Back to our review, though. Remember: this was in 2011, before the rebranding. I bought a bottle of Nemiroff Original vodka for 12€/700ml and sat down in the kitchen with it. The bottle design seemed okayish to me, nothing special.
I poured a glass at room temperature. The smell was okay, and the taste turned out to be quite good. It went down smoothly, and the aftertaste was alright as well. I didn’t taste any cumin or honey whatsoever, but I liked it.
good for tails
My final verdict: Nemiroff Original vodka is a solid choice for mixed drinks. If you want to make a cocktail, get this. But if you are into straight shots, then there are better brands out there.