DATE: Sunday, June 29, 1997                 TAG: 9706260032

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: WINES & SPIRITS

SOURCE: BY M.F. ONDERDONK, WINES & SPIRITS CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

DIFFERENCES ARE CLEAR IN INTERNATIONAL VODKA TASTING

ALL VODKAS are not created equal.

Yes, it's high time we members of the adult set forgot all those furtive pre-prom assurances of long ago, that vodka has no taste, especially when mixed with Tang.

There is a difference, well known to drinkers of vodka martinis.

More lately, the truth about vodka has been thrown into mountain-high relief by the appearance of the new made-in-America Glacier Teton vodka - now available in Virginia. The Glacier Teton edge? It's distilled from potatoes.

For, counter to popular illusions of vodka's origins as something wrung by Russian peasants from the potato scrapings the swine didn't want, most vodkas are distilled from grain - wheat, rye or corn.

To more closely savor the difference between grain and potato vodkas - and among the various price points, which range widely - a tasting committee met recently to blind-taste, rank and offer comments on a short-list of domestic and imported vodkas.

Andrea Simek of the Timbuktu restaurant in Virginia Beach; George LeCuyer, formerly proprietor of Wine Street Gourmet; wine consultant John Keating and I sampled five commercially available vodkas.

We also sampled a sixth, a Polish interloper contributed by LeCuyer. This, known as Zubrowka Bison Vodka, is not so much an import as a legal alien, given to LeCuyer by friends returning from a voyage through Europe. LeCuyer says it's not available on the U.S. market because each bottle contains a slender reed of ``bison herb,'' named for the beasts that graze on the steppes where it's produced - rather in the spirit of the worm in the tequila bottle. Poetic it may be, but the USDA apparently doesn't approve. So, of course, the Zubrowka drank the other vodkas under the table, with subtle flavors of spice and flowers and very clean, smooth character. This is the stuff whereof vodka martinis are made, in both Poland and Plato's realm of the ideal.

Turning back to reality, the most favored of the remaining five was also a Pole - Belvedere, which comes in a gorgeous etched-glass bottle, with a price tag to match. Stolichnaya, the popular Russian import, was also drew favorable comments. The Teton Glacier followed - apparently man does not drink by potatoes alone, even when given the opportunity.

In the same price range as the Stolly and Glacier, Skyy did not show especially well, proving once again the Blue Bottle Theory of Alcohol Marketing - i.e., a pretty container makes for good mark-ups. Dead last was the made-in-Virginia Bowman's.

Poor Bowman's, we know it well. For in this price zone - a full $10 less than the nearest contender - it's still an excellent candidate for a Bloody Mary. Just hold the Tang, OK? Comments and prices follow - cost is for a 750 milliliter bottle unless otherwise noted.

Belvedere. Warm aroma, kicky, slightly luscious, with a smooth finish. Distilled from 100 percent rye. Around $28.

Stolichnaya. Perfumed aromas, smooth with a warm finish, very pleasant. Around $17.

Glacier Teton. Big, warm nose; body is somehow reminiscent of whiskey; very hot, intense, alcoholic-tasting. Around $19.

Skyy. Hot on the nose; sweet; big bite on the finish. Around $16.

Bowman's. Alcoholic on the nose and in the mouth, recalling, to one committee member, ``nail polish remover and acetone.'' Around $5.

Zubrowka Bison Vodka. Herbal and floral aromas, flavor of cinnamon, medium body. This best of the lot can only be obtained when traveling abroad; around $22 per liter. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

GREER ENTERPRISES

American-made Glacier Teton vodka (around $19): distilled from

potatoes; hot, intense, alcoholic-tasting.

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