Sobieski

Vodka
Purchase Price: $9
Place of Purchase: Joe Canal's - Rio Grande, NJ
Rating: 8.0

Purchasing a bottle of vodka you’ve never heard of for $9 at a self-described "mega-store" in New Jersey is always going to be a potentially disastrous acquisition. But Sobieski had three things going for it that nudged me into pulling the trigger. One, it’s Polish (they rarely misstep in this category) two, it’s distilled from rye, (just like one of my favorites Belvedere, also from Poland) and three, it shares a name with LeeLee Sobieski (who is quite fetching and probably should be doing some advertising work for this brand—think of the synergy!). Well, for once, my instincts steered me right, Sobieski is a decent vodka, not exactly something you'd serve the Czar if he dropped by, but it most certainly lacks the anti-freeze burn of some of the other vodkas being peddled at this price point. It is a genuine economic bargain in these troubled times. Unscrew a bottle while the movers empty out your foreclosed house!