The Vodka Masters 2013 Results

For a category described by some as “dull,” our judges found a wealth of diversity, depth and quality in The Vodka Masters, writes Becky Paskin

Nowhere is the marked improvement in the quality of vodka more obvious than in the increase in super-premium entries this year

If there’s one thing that’s clear from The Vodka Masters 2013, it’s that the quality of vodka has markedly improved. As we’ve been told a hundred times before, consumers are now more educated than ever, and it’s this education that’s driving a desire for quality.

Whether purchasing a vodka to mix at home with cola, to make a perfect Martini or to sip on the rocks, consumers are making more informed decisions and are not prepared to skimp on quality.

Nowhere was this more obvious than the remarkable increase in the number of super-premium entries this year, versus a drop for standard and premium.

“This demonstrates how the industry is leaning more towards producing quality vodka,” noted Daisy Jones, associate publisher of The Spirits Business and organiser of The Spirits Masters. “Consumers are obviously choosing vodkas for their taste rather than their price point and that shows through in The Vodka Masters this year.”

France Despert and Herchelle Perez Terrado are old hats at judging The Vodka Masters

The same rang true for the flavoured vodkas entered this year, which regardless of whether you’re a fan, were all deemed to be of super-premium quality.

An overall record number of entries for The Vodka Masters 2013 meant our panel of judges were in for a long day. Split into two teams to tackle half the competition each were France Despert, head of ethanol at Cargill, Kris Olivier, bartender at One Canada Square, and sub-team chair Herchelle Perez Terrado, spirits buyer for Waitrose. Joining myself as the second chair was Imants Zusmanis, bar manager at Kensington Place.

We kicked off the day’s proceedings with the country of origin categories, which swayed obviously in vodka’s homeland’s favour. The awarding of two Masters, two Golds and a Silver medal to the Russian line-up is a reflection of exactly why vodka has become an iconic product. The variety afforded by the Russian vodkas was superb, with some being extremely smooth and creamy, and others offering spicy notes.

Becky Paskin and Kris Olivier put their noses to the test

While there was nothing but praise for the Russian vodkas, Terrado expressed her disappointment at the quality and numbers of those from Eastern Europe. “Knowing Eastern Europe offers such diversity of base grains it was interesting not to experience this variance in the flight,” she professed. “There weren’t a lot of entries; I missed the typical character of the wodkas.

These entries are starting to look like Western European vodkas. However, the non-flavoured ones were neat, clear and crisp with a nicely balanced palate and agreeable finish.” When it came to the rest of Europe, our judges expressed mixed feelings. Imants and myself were confused by the overbearing sweetness of a couple of entries, while Terrado was “left looking” for any distinctive regional quality from the Scandinavian bag.

The judges from left to right: Becky Paskin, The Spirits Business; Imants Zusmanis, Kensington Place, Frances Despert, Cargill, Kris Olivier, One Canada Square; Herchelle Perez Terrado, Waitrose

As for the Rest of World flight, the vodkas entered were an extremely varied bunch, with an enormous difference between each. One or two really impressed as good examples of what a vodka should be, especially from regions outside the established vodka-producing areas that have hundreds of years of distilling heritage. With that in mind, we were very impressed and awarded two Golds.

While there were only a small number of entries in the Standard category, the flight was described by Despert as “anything but dull, which is what you might expect from this category”. Two Silver medals and a Gold were awarded before judges moved onto the slightly larger Premium round.

Click through the following pages to see the results of The Vodka Masters 2013.