Vodka with Polish

Marketed in India under the Moët Hennessy umbrella, Poland's Belvedere offers a smooth vodka that has a gentle, lemony aftertaste

Vodka often finds itself at the receiving end of stereotyping in India. For instance, it is considered a lady's drink and a spirit which is good only for cocktails. Vodka critics often label it as tasteless, colourless and odourless - traits which are considered the antithesis of any good spirit. Perhaps it is to offset this image that vodka makers now sell the liquor in peach, vanilla, and a zillion other flavours. But that hasn't helped its cause either.

Polish vodka brand Belvedere, however, maintains that it can overcome these challenges and establish itself in the "super premium" vodka category. Priced at Rs 4,990 for a one-litre bottle, Belvedere is one of the more expensive vodka brands in the country. Grey Goose retails at Rs 4,200, while the likes of Absolut sell for Rs 1,400 (750ml) in Delhi.

Is Belvedere worth the price and the "super premium" tag? The vodka is one of the smoothest that one can have, and it actually has a flavour. When critics call vodka a tasteless drink, they do have a point, but Belvedere proves them wrong by giving the spirit a lemony taste. Charles Gibb, president, Belvedere Vodka, claims that he once gave the drink in a brown glass to various people and they found it hard to say whether the drink was vodka or not. Well, it's certainly a lot better than the vodkas that are around - even Grey Goose leaves a bitter aftertaste.

Made from Polish rye, which, according to Gibb, is blended with its own distilled water four times, Belvedere comes in a pretty neat-looking bottle. It is marketed in India under the Moët Hennessy umbrella and has been around for the eight years or so. While the initial years were a bit of a struggle as people weren't willing to fork out the money for a "super premium" vodka, things have changed for the better now, according to Gibb.

I had Belvedere neat and it went down quite easily, the throat doesn't burn and the gentle aftertaste lingers on for quite some time. I also had a peach-based cocktail made using Belvedere and it tasted like most vodka cocktails do - fancy but nothing remarkable.

A lot of people love doing vodka shots - though it beats me how they manage to do this on Absolut, or even worse, Smirnoff. Shots leave your mouth dry and the throat on fire. Belvedere, however, seems like a vodka that is ideal for shots - even though we wouldn't recommend vodka shots, whatever the brand.

For almost Rs 5,000, it is vodka that will certainly appeal to the connoisseurs of the spirit. At this price point, one does expect a certain quality of drink and Belvedere is good value for the money. But if you love your whisky and are an occasional vodka drinker, it's doubtful that you would pick Belvedere over a single malt (Talisker 10 Year Old costs Rs 5,100 and Macallan 12 Year Old costs around Rs 5,000).

It's not easy to like vodka - even if it comes in as many flavours and as many brilliantly crafted martinis. Yet there is this thing you would have to admit - Belvedere is one of the better-tasting vodkas that you will come across in the country.