Purity Vodka Review

Calling your product Purity Vodka and putting it in a crystal-cut bottle comes with a few expectations. First, that its chief concern is smoothness, probably to the extent of being tasteless. And second, that it’s yet another over-hyped, look-at-me vodka in a world of too many such vodkas. Throw in the fact that Purity Vodka has been distilled an absurd 34 times, and it would be easy to write this one off altogether. But then you taste it and, well, that opinion changes.

Produced in Sweden, Purity Vodka is made from winter wheat and malted barley. As noted above, it’s distilled 34 times (although that number is seriously inflated when taking into account column stills), and they only use a select 10% cut of what’s distilled. So after all those distillations, they trash 90% of their product. And while most vodkas are filtered, this one isn’t. It’s simply blended with water and bottled, which is promising, as unfiltered vodkas retain more flavor and character than filtered ones.

On the nose, Purity Vodka is full of grain notes, plus some mild sweetness. Drink up for a soft, medium-bodied mouthfeel with subtle flavors ranging from cream soda and vanilla to almonds, wheat and minerals. Pepper notes start coming through, along with more grains — this time, barley. All that lingers for a bit before finishing clean and bone dry.

Purity is the rare vodka that’s not distilled beyond recognition. Too often vodka distillers seek to achieve a neutral result that’s stripped of what makes drinking worthwhile — things like actual aromas, flavors and textures. But in this case, Purity manages to keep lots of that grain character amidst some mild vanilla and pepper for an overall product that’s worth your time. It’s priced in the premium category, but for our money, Purity outperforms many of its better known competitors.

Stats:
– 40% ABV
– $35

CE Rating: ★★★★