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grey goose

Jan 05 2015

Four Vodkas For Your Bloody Marys

You can bet one of these vodkas is called “Three Olives” – not only because that would be clever (because it’s a post about “four” vodkas, not three), but because it’s the vodka Clive Owen drinks.

Format be darned – we’re in the business of sharing usable content with you, gentle reader! Also, we like those “whipsaw” posts – you know, the ones where we say things like “gentle reader” then we use an exclamation point! It would make total sense, then, to keep this listicle to something digestible, like Four Vodkas for Your Bloody Marys as opposed to “You Wouldn’t Believe What 11 Magic Ingredients We Added to the Bloody Mary!” (then with a subtitle like “Number 7 Will Make You Question Humanity!”). Clickbait is not our thing, yo.

Four Vodkas For Your Bloody Marys

Before we dive in, a word to the wise: “Bloody Marys” as we wrote it is grammatically correct. Shut the front door if you disagree.

Also, we plan on having something for every budget here, or at least some sort of range for you to choose from. And, we should have done the clickbait thing because Number One Will Shock You!

Sobieski Vodka

1. Sobieski (Metasip Grade: A)

Scene: Middle of the summer, downtown, suburban USA. Family walks to a cafe for a weekend brunch-type meal. Parent orders Bloody Mary and is struck by the tastiness of the vodka. Inquires of the waitstaff and is informed…”well, I don’t know. Let me find out.”

So the random well vodka, it turns out, was this stuff. Sobieski. Boomski. We’ll take it.

Didn’t realize that the Beverage Testing Institute (a) was such a thing and (2) rated these vodkas. Why not the others, too? Where’s Tito’s, which seems to be EVERYONE’S FAVORITE VODKA???

We’ve since had people tell us this is their go-to. Big bottle (1.75L) is under $20, and it’s the premium vodka of Poland. Gets an A in our book. Go get some.

Behance Grey Goose Ad
From Behance.net

2. Grey Goose (Metasip Grade: B+)

Stuff’s expensive, so, since our grading scale takes into account Taste, Profile, and VALUE, all three must be perfectly aligned. Still, some of y’all swear by Grey Goose and we don’t blame you if you want to splurge. So, go ahead, splurge! Get the Bloody with everything! Ask for twelve olives, a complete half-ham mortadella, twice-cured salame and maybe even real Amana Bleu Cheese.

I think the ad above is from a contest to design an ad for Grey Goose. An interesting formula for an ad, don’t ya think? Attractive woman, bottle of liquor, cold beverage. No wonder the ad industry is so successful.

BTW, by expensive, we mean $45-plus for a big bottle.

Kirkland Vodka
Official Vodka of Euchre

3. Kirkland Signature Vodka (Metasip Grade: A)

Our most popular post ever here at Metasip HQ was this one: Costco Alcohol Shopping or some such, I forgot the title. In it, we discussed a not-very-well-kept secret: that Kirkland Signature Vodka – the one that’s “Five-Times Distilled” (like Grey Goose) and “Imported from France” (like Grey Goose) might actually be…well…Grey Goose.

Also works well in the Vodka Tonic.

$30 for the bottle. THIRTY. DOLLARS.

Clive Owen for Three Olives
Thanks, 2luxury2.com

4. Three Olives Vodka (Metasip Grade: A-)

If you wake up in the morning and ask yourself “What vodka would Clive Owen drink?,” then your answer should be “Three Olives.” Your next step should be trying to figure out where Clive Owen has been lately; a quick jaunt over to IMDB tells us that he’s in a show called “The Knick” and that he recently turned 50. That last bit is a surprise.

His vodka is not a surprise – like him, I guess, in that it does the job, doesn’t muck things up, might amaze from time to time, but is really what you need in the Bloody Mary. You don’t want the vodka to say “Give me back my son!” or “I’ll be back!” or “Yippee Cayenne Muppet Trucker” or some other catch phrase. You just want it to add the little bit of vodkicity to the Bloody Mary and then go back into the freezer – or, in Clive’s case, back to Cinemax for another season. (Or was it Starz? NO, it was, definitely, Skinamax.)

We believe we paid around $20 for a 1L bottle back in the day – a year ago; it was the one we used up before buying the Kirkland. For THIRTY BUCKS.

What good would a Bloody Mary post be without a recipe?

Good question: we normally just go with a mix – srsly, what’s wrong with pulling mix out of a bottle and rolling with it? Well, in these days of craft cocktails and whatnot, you might want to take just a little extra time an go with this one – from people we plan on becoming friends with over at Liquor.com – because we have found (being fans of the classic Chicago hot dog) that celery salt makes everything better.

Four Vodkas for Your Bloody Marys…

There are more – this is not meant to be a definitive list, of course, since you could drive yourself nutso at the vodka aisle of the Walmart. But here are four to take a look at.

Drink up!

Written by Dave Van de Walle · Categorized: Vodka · Tagged: grey goose, kirkland vodka, Sobieski, Three Olives

Jun 04 2014

5 Secrets to Buying Alcohol at Costco

Kirkland Bourbon
Behold, alcohol at Costco!

We really should have named this…

“5 Secrets to Buying Alcohol at Costco That THEY Don’t Want You to Know About…“

but that would have sounded way too much like an infomercial. And, of course, for maximum clickbait exposure, we should have said something like “#3 will blow your mind!”

But what we really want to do is make this as informative as gosh darn possible. So that’s what we’re going to do, darnit.

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Now, before we dive in, a little background. I spent many a Saturday and Sunday at Costco stores in suburban Chicago, peddling wine (for a brand that we’ll get to in point number 3 below). I learned quite a bit – not just about people’s wine-buying habits, but about how they buy beer, spirits, and everything else.

Yes, the Costco experience is something to behold – if you don’t have one near you, I feel bad for ya. And if you do have one near you but you live in a state with odd rules about buying alcohol, then this post isn’t for you. Unless you’re moving. Or you have a friend that can ship you stuff. Or you work out some other arrangement.

Without further adieu, here’s the post:

5 Secrets to Buying Alcohol at Costco

*One Editor’s Note as we get rolling: if you have a different sort of warehouse club by you, these rules MAY apply. But they possibly will not: part of my gig included the occasional trip to Sam’s Club. Comparing Costco to Sam’s Club is like comparing…actually, I just took a five-minute break, racking my brain trying to figure out if there is any real comparison. There isn’t. If you’re like us, the only reason you had a Sam’s Club membership is because it’s 12 miles closer than Costco and sometimes you absolutely need cheap gas. In fact, we didn’t really need the membership, because…segue…

Kim Crawford 2013 Sauvignon Blanc
You can maybe buy this at Costco.

1. You May Not Need a Membership to Buy Alcohol

We told you above that reason #3 might blow your mind, but, honestly, this one is the one that leaves people saying…WHAT?

This is not true in every state in the Union, and you’ll need to check your state and your individual club. But we know this for a fact in Illinois: at warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s, a membership card is NOT needed to buy alcohol.

When you get to the front door and they ask for your membership card, say “I’m buying alcohol.” They’ll let you in, provided that’s the rule in your state.

When doing those promotional events I mentioned above, there were times when the person behind the counter when I was checking out didn’t even know the rule. Sometimes they’d just say “99” and ring me up. But other times, they’re calling a manager and asking around.

Keep this in mind – if you’re in one of these states where you don’t need a membership, you can’t buy anything else. Just alcohol (and maybe cigarettes, cigars, etc.).

Kirkland Signature Champagne
Since it’s “Champagne,” well, it’s French.

2. If It Says “Kirkland” on the Label…

This should really be in two parts: part one is that it’s been fully vetted, and part two – which might be a no-brainer to some, but is worth mentioning anyway – is that Costco didn’t make it themselves.

Really: if you see a Bordeaux wine and it says “Kirkland,” do you think Costco has its own winery in Bordeaux?

No. They don’t. They’re sourcing products of all kinds from throughout the world. Coffee from Rwanda is produced by Rwandan coffee growers, then Costco gets it to you through the magic of their distribution network. Alcohol has more hoops to jump through, but, since they’re America’s largest seller of wine, they’re on the case.

Kirkland Signature Vodka
NOT Grey Goose.

3. Some Kirkland Products Are Actually…

This is a good one: they won’t tell you what they actually are, because they can’t. But here’s where the fun starts.

An unconfirmed rumor is that Kirkland’s Vodka, the one made in France, is actually Grey Goose. Or at least made at the same place AS Grey Goose.

Mind. Blown.

Now, whether or not that’s true, we’ll never know. But, unless you are a brand-loyal vodka drinker, you can take a chance on a vodka, or a whiskey, or a gin, save some serious cash – $15-20 savings per bottle – and have a rock-solid libation in your liquor cabinet. This brings us to another mystery, and allows us to tell you a little more about who we were working for when we were at Costco:

Cameron Hughes Lot 416 2012 Pinot Noir
Cam knows his stuff.

4. Cameron Hughes Wine Figured This Out

Full disclosure: these are the folks I worked for, doing wine demos in Costco off and on for five years. There actually IS a Cameron Hughes and he’s the guy behind Cameron Hughes Wine.

What he’ll tell you about his approach is the same thing I would tell you if you bumped into me at Costco and I had the salesman badge on: some wineries will sell their “remainder” and he bottles that and sells it to you at a markedly lower price. After people gasp, I’d explain the economics behind the business model…

Take Winery X. They’re ready to sell their California Cabernet for $50 a bottle. They’ve got 10,000 cases ready to go and they learn that Winery Y is also ready to sell their premium Cab at $50 a bottle. And then Winery Z wants to do the same…pretty soon, you’ve got a glut – too much premium stuff.

Winery X, being smart and knowing about supply and demand, thinks they can fare better by cutting their own supply in half. They also know that the actual value of the wine itself is much lower than $50 a bottle – so they call up Mr. Hughes and cut a deal.

Next thing you know, 3,000 to 5,000 cases of a California Cabernet from Cameron Hughes Wine make it to Costco. But it’s a limited quantity (each wine gets a lot number) AND it’s priced to sell – their wheelhouse is $12-$16 a bottle.

You get a wine that drinks much more expensively than what you paid for it.

Sofia 2013 Rose
Francis’ Daughter, which you of course knew.

5. Costco’s 14% Rule

This is another secret – not well-kept but no one will give you the exact number. We’ve heard 13% and 15% – doesn’t matter, the bottom-line here is that they’ll mark the product up only to the limit, and not more.

Where this benefits you, the buyer of all things alcoholic, is mostly with the big names. Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio will be cheaper at Costco than anywhere else you’ll find it, and the same goes for any of the big-name spirits – and even some of the smaller names (we thought Tito’s Handmade Vodka was cheap at our local Walmart, but Costco won that battle, too).

You can also have quite a bit of luck with those things that keep us humming along here at Metasip: the sub-$10 wines, and the craft beers. (A nifty combo of rule #2 and rule #5 is at play with the Kirkland Beer Sampler.)

Next time you’re at Costco, remember these tips. And happy drinking!

Written by Dave Van de Walle · Categorized: Shopping · Tagged: beer, costco, grey goose, kirkland vodka, sofia, wine

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