Halloween Favorites: Crystal Head Vodka Review
If you’re a big fan of party planning, Halloween is probably a kickoff to your favorite part of the year: holiday season. Dressing up, making drinks, handing out candy, Halloween drinking games, what’s not to love? This year, while the kids are loading up on sugar, with any luck me and the other adults will be loading up on booze. Just in time for Halloween, we received samples of Crystal Head Vodka, and we couldn’t think of a better time to give the brand a try.
We’ve seen this formula before, vodka + cool bottle + celebrity endorser/owner = success. When CHV first came out, you couldn’t keep it on the shelf. The hype machine was on full blast, and owner Dan Akroyd was EVERYWHERE promoting it, including my liquor store in Tallahassee. So whats the big deal? Dan Akroyd, and his partner John Alexander, created CHV with the idea of making a high quality pure vodka that contained no additives. No glycerol, citrus oils, or sugars. Nothing was added to enhance or mask the taste. It”s made in New Found-land, an island off the coast of Canada, and is distilled 4 times, and filtered 7. But the real question is, is it worth the hype…
First Impression: If you’ve never seen it before, CHV has one of the coolest packages on the market. When it first came out back in 2008, I was still behind the counter at my liquor store, and it flew off the shelf. The bottle is a work of art, created by John Alexander, and was inspired by the legend of the 13 skulls used by Native Americans. If nothing else, it makes a great addition to a book shelf or display case.
Tasting Notes: They say vodka is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Anyone that’s had more than a few vodkas knows that isn’t always true, and with Crystal Head it’s definitely false. There’s not much on the nose, it’s your standard alcohol aroma. The first sip we had though, was sweet, with an almost vanilla taste to it. I had to have a few sips to really make sure my mind, and tongue, weren’t playing tricks on me. It’s definitely got some flavor, in a good way. Going down it’s pretty smooth, and much to my surprise there was almost no after taste. The main things people look for in a vodka is a smooth taste which no after burn and no hangovers in the morning. We can’t comment on the hangover yet, but you can check off the other two categories.
Price: $45.99
Grade: A
Final Word: So I have to admit, I was always a bit skeptic about the brand. It’s got a heavy price tag, and the bottle is nothing short of amazing, so I kind of figured that meant the vodka inside was trash. Instead, inside was one of the smoothest vodkas I’ve ever had, and a flavor that is sweet and unique. It’s got great appeal this time of year for Halloween, and makes a great conversation starter, so for almost $50 bucks, I think it’s worth keeping on our back bar.
For more information about Crystal Head Vodka, visit www.crystalheadvodka.com or check them out on Facebook.
Cheers,
Alex
