Vodka vs. Scotch - a drink for different occasions

When it comes to alcoholic drinks, I am not an elitist.  I like scotch, and found myself developing an interest in appreciating it, but that does not mean I ONLY drink scotch.  Today, I am going to talk about Vodka, one of the world's most popular liquors, and my opinion between the two alcohol. 

But first, a little background knowledge about vodka.  The drink originated from Russia in the 14th century.  Its name is derived from "Voda", which is the Russian word for water. 

One of the things paid extra attention to when making vodka is the purity of the water used.  The purer the water used to make the drink, the better it is.  This is why you often hear the top vodka producers advertising they "triple distilled" their water in an attempt to eradicate every impurity from the final product. 

The main reason for vodka's popularity is because of its versatility.  It is generally smoother compared to scotch.  A lot of drinks have a vodka base; vodka can be mixed with most mixers like orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, milk, Kahlua or soda.  Vodka has been the most popular selling spirit in the United States for some time now, and has all but replaced gin as the base in Martinis. 

                                                                                   Vodka Martini

Vodka, to put it simply, is ethanol and water.  It is generally odourless and flavorless, and lacks "character".  Scotch, on the other hand, is aged in wood barrels for anywhere between 3 - 50 years to develop that oak-y flavor.  The steps in scotch production tries to maximize flavor components in order to give the drink that distinct "character", and is significantly more complex than that of vodka's.

So which drink is "better"?  Well, it depends on what the occasion is.  If you are partying with friends in a bar or at a house-party, vodka is the clear leader here.  Cocktails such as Cosmopolitan, martini, long island tea, white and black Russians are all made with vodka. 

Go for a nice scotch if you are in a more formal ambiance, or when you are in a situation where you can really take the time to appreciate the drink instead of chugging it down.  You can do shots with vodka, whereas scotch is more suitable for sipping and savoring. 

On a personal note, I like drinking vodka in the form of cocktails.  But I can never, ever drink it neat.  That's receipe for throwing up for me. 

Fun fact: even though both scotch and whisky are 80-proof in alcohol content, over-drinking on whisky will give you a worse hangover than vodka according to a study by researchers from Brown University

Whatever your choice of drink is, bottoms-up my friend.