These Are the Best Vodkas for Any Budget

Among the many (many) things that 2020 taught us was that vodka is not good hand sanitizer.

But vodka is good drinking.

Vodka is more versatile than gin, cleaner-tasting than rum, and far less TEQUILA than tequila. It also has seasonal flex, equally well suited for sipping simply in the summer with nothing more than ice and maaaaaybe a lemon peel as it is in a winter-warmer toddy.

But there's also a lot more depth and complexity to good vodka than too many people don't give it credit for. If you're buying the right kind of vodka, you'll notice creamy, spicy, woodsy, tart, and even floral flavors depending on the brand and bottle.

And therein resides the very pressing question: Which of the seemingly endless number of vodkas do you buy, especially if you're considering price?

To help build the ultimate list of the best vodkas for any budget, we brought in H. Joseph Ehrmann, proprietor of ELIXIR, San Francisco’s second-oldest continually operating saloon. Besides his saloon, he owns and operates a cocktail event production and beverage catering company (ELIXIR To Go), a beverage industry consultancy (Cocktail Ambassadors), a fresh cocktail mixer product company (Fresh Victor), and an independent bottler (Kokoro Spirits).

So, yes, he's the kind of expert you listen to on important matters such as these.

And remember: Absolutely none of these vodkas make for good hand sanitizers. They are just vodkas. And very, very good ones at that.