the remake

This is a review of Skyy vodka from the US. I sampled it in Germany in 2013. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, and I thought it was surprisingly good.

This one seems to be all over the place. Skyy vodka isn’t just in all the bars and clubs – almost every time I search for a term containing the word “vodka” on the internet, I will be presented with an advertisement from this brand.

product placement

Skyy vodka is from San Francisco but owned by Campari. It was established in the 1990s, and by now it seems to have taken over much of the club scene. It uses aggressive marketing techniques such as product placements (even in Chinese sitcoms) to push its brand image. And it seems to be very successful at it.

A champion of marketing.

This never made me feel like trying it, though. It made me think of brands like Smirnoff Red Label #21 and Absolut that are arguably better at marketing than they are at making vodka.

the olden days

As you know I’m re-editing these reviews almost 10 years later. It’s March 2022, and I am checking skyyvodka.com for some additional infomation. The first thing I noticed was that the bottle looks slightly different now:

And there is something! Skyy vodka seems to have gotten a makeover and a new recipe:

NOW MADE WITH WATER ENHANCED WITH PACIFIC MINERALS. Interesting. When did this change occur? The bottle I tried was from 2013 – does that mean I have to go and get a new one?

Skyy vodka is better than I thought

Anyway, let’s go back to the initial review. Turns out that Skyy vodka was actually better than I thought. The taste is clean and smooth. Goes down easy, doesn’t put up much of a fight. Quality stuff. The aftertaste is slightly uninteresting. There could be a tad more aroma. But it’s not bad, either.

I thought the deep blue bottle design was pretty average. The price of about 13€ for 700ml was good.

for mixed drinks

Albeit being from the US, Skyy vodka reminded me of nordic brands like Absolut or Finlandia, which are usually of solid quality and do well in mixed drinks. I guess I would chill it and add some juice and ice cubes.

For neat consumption at room temperature, I’d rather have stuff like Belvedere or Russian Standard, though.

I am wondering why I’ve never tried this one earlier. And I’m also wondering if I should try it again.