3-1-07 // Tested: Wyborowa Vodka

Lou Mazzante

There are times in our lives when slapping a five-spot on a soggy bar and ordering a Bud just won’t do. No matter what the events that lure us into an upscale drinking establishment, in the company of upscale associates, we must act respectable and, dare I say, refined.

Instead of chugging swill, we must sip (long pulls are okay if no one is looking) fine liquor. But not just any liquor. Tequila—regardless of how high of a shelf it is pulled from—still reeks of collegiate binge drinking. Same for whiskey, even if has a Scottish birthright. Gin is for snobs, brandy for pansies, or so I’m told. So what are we left with? Vodka, the finest thing Russia has ever produced, with the exception of a few female tennis players.

But some of the finest Vodka’s comes not from Russia, but from Poland, a country that claims to have invented the liquor hundreds of years before the their neighbors to the east. Polish distilleries pump out dozens of excellent Vodka’s, but one of the best I’ve tasted is Wyborowa, a centuries-old brand that is still triple distilled according to tradition.

Like the country in which it is produced, Wyborowa has undergone a transformation recently. Gone is a bland logo and non-descript bottle that was easily mistaken for Bankers Club, Gordon’s, Vladimir or any of the hundreds of other cheap and foul-tasting vodkas lining the walls of discount liquor stores.

To create an image befitting the fine Vodka it produces, Wyborowa turned to legendary architect Frank Gehry, who has designed everything from the Guggenheim museum in Bilboa, Spain, to Fossil watches. For Wyborowa, he created a long, rectangular glass bottle that twists askew near the top. The glass is smooth to the touch, but dimpled on the inside, like a sheet of raw steel molded into form by a heavy mallet.

But is it possible that Gehry did too good a job? That the designer bottle outclasses the vodka inside? Those concerns were immediately put to rest when I unscrewed the cap (which conveniently doubles as a shot glass) and poured the first glass.

Wyborowa Single Estate is a pure rye vodka, as clear as a glacial stream (the mythical type, not the actual ones filled with mud and silt and giardia). It has a faint citrus aroma that not only smells good, but also can be tasted, giving this vodka a nearly perfect blend of sweet acidic snap followed by a soft grainy bite. Neither taste, however, is overpowering. Whether you are sipping it chilled or mixing it with just about anything, Wyborowa is incredibly drinkable.

Although it is crisp and clear, it is not watery. The Vodka has a smooth, slightly heavy consistency that rolls across the lips and slides over the tongue. Drinking Wyborowa, I imagine, is like kissing a fine Eastern European woman—soft and smooth with just a little bite at the end.

In the company of gentlemen, or high-class ladies, ordering Wyborowa will give even the dirtiest dirtbag an air of refinement and civility. But the vodka is good enough that you may find yourself reaching for it in less formal situations, like sitting behind your desk after a long day spent reviewing fine liquor.

For more information go to www.wyborowa.com

Reader Comments

Posted Thu Jun18, 2009, 5:34 PM — By John Daley

A whole bottle goes down nice and smooth, ahhh yummy in my tummy! I think I'm still hammered,where's my pants???

Posted Wed Dec 9, 2009, 6:25 PM — By drgdfgdr

sizin am deliğinizle göt deliğinizi bir edeyim amına kodumun doğurdukları orospu çocuklarının çkip çıkardıkları fırlama dölleri cibiliyetinizi sikeyim..