17 Best Vodkas for Every Home Bar

It's time to make a better vodka-based cocktail.

Vodka is a key component in every home bar, whether it’s a fully kitted-out wet bar in the basement or a small cabinet off the kitchen. Vodka is essential for a variety of cocktails beyond the standard Martini and Cosmo. A super versatile spirit, it's especially well-suited for beginner mixologists to experiment with.

No matter how many bottles you have, it’s a good idea to stock a varied selection. There are many expressions of this seemingly straightforward spirit. It can be crafted from potatoes, grains, sugar beets, and even, in the case of one of the vodkas below, quinoa. Beyond the base ingredients that are steeped in water and inoculated with yeast to be fermented, the ways in which the distillation is handled also affect the final product. And we’re not even going to go into detail about the huge impact that the source of the water has that’s used to bring the vodka back to proof. The important part here is to understand that vodka, that famously clear and supposedly flavorless spirit, is full of character.

The trick is deciding which vodka to buy, because even among non-flavored vodkas, the options are seemingly infinite. What’s it distilled from? How many times has it been filtered? Is there anything special about the water used to bring it back to proof? With so many options, things can get confusing quickly. The vodkas below are all worth including in your home spirits set-up. These vodka brands and bottles represent a range of flavor profiles, countries of origin, and price points that are well worth your consideration.

Broken Shed Premium Vodka

Crafted in Wanaka, New Zealand and distilled from whey, this vodka is brought to proof using water from both the North and South Island. It showcases suggestions of stone fruit, mashed yellow apples, and vanilla crème, all carried on a particularly velvety texture. 

Carbonadi Vodka

Distilled in Italy from a base of organic Italian wheat grown in Piedmont, filtered through black diamonds, and finally micro-oxygenated, this is a silky, elegant, and delicate vodka that’s kissed with notes of peach, almond, and springtime flowers, with a whisper of mintiness on the finish.

Chopin Family Reserve Extra Rare Young Potato Vodka

This would make for a decadent vodka Martini, but it certainly rewards sipping on its own, too: Citrus oils, white licorice, and sweet root vegetable notes swirl from the glass and are carried on a remarkable silky frame.

FAIR Quinoa Vodka

Fair Trade certified, organic quinoa from the Bolivian Altiplano forms the heart of this vodka (corn spirit is also incorporated), which is distilled in Cognac, France. It’s a vegan, gluten-free spirit whose subtle sweetness, suggestions of mashed Marcona almonds, and silky texture benefit a wide range of cocktails.

Finlandia Vodka

This vodka, produced in Finland, is made entirely from Finnish Suomi barley and then brought to proof with glacier water from the Rajam?ki spring. The resulting spirit expresses less fruit than many counterparts and more in the way of minerality. It’s a bracing vodka that makes an excellent ice-cold Martini, preferably very dry, with a twist of lemon. This can be found for around $20, which makes it an easy and smart addition to your home bar set-up.

Grey Goose

So popular that its fans often don't bother with the full name: It’s like Beyoncé, or Cher, or Tiger. Just: Goose. Based on French winter wheat and spring water, this has a plush texture that carries notes of citrus and subtle flowers. It’s stellar in a broad range of cocktails and makes for a particularly unforgettable Vesper.

Get the Recipe: Vesper

Haku Vodka

Crafted from Japanese rice and filtered through charcoal made of bamboo, this vodka from Suntory is generous and subtle. Its sippable sweetness frames flavors of vanilla and almond blossoms.

Humboldt Distillery Vodka

Certified organic and crafted in Fortuna, California, this is a clean, warming vodka that’s both plush and generous. Made from American sugarcane and distilled four times, it hints at chamomile and spearmint alongside lemon oils and very subtle spice.

Javelin

All of the proceeds from sales of this vodka go to Razom, which helps fund humanitarian causes and relief organizations in Ukraine. It’s a well-vetted organization, and the vodka, produced from California grapes and American grain, is a velvet-textured spirit with notes of pears, lemons, and minerality through the finish. It’s excellent in a Gibson.

Get the Recipe: Gibson

Ketel One

One of the true vodka heavyweights, the telltale lemon notes in Ketel One make it well-suited to a Martini with a twist, and its spice stands up to the onions in a Gibson.

Ocean Organic Vodka

Distilled in Hawaii from organically grown sugar cane, then cut to proof with purified deep-sea water from 3,000 feet below the surface at the base of Mauna Kea, this is a fascinating vodka that balances sweet autumn orchard fruit and subtle salinity (making it excellent with fried and cured snacks), all carried on a light, energetic texture. The company also supports the Pacific Whale Foundation, so you can stir up a Martini and feel like you’re doing right by the planet… the definition of a win-win!

Ogden’s Own Distillery Five Husbands Vodka

This Utah-based distillery has been a sponsor of the Utah Pride Festival for a number of years, and crafts a range of notable spirits. Five Husbands was initially a limited-release bottling for the 2019 festival, but it’s since become part of the brand's core range, with some of the profits from sales going to various LGBTQ+ organizations. As for the vodka, it’s assertive and subtly lifted, with a simmer of spice through the finish — a nice complement to cranberry and club soda.

Tattersall Small Batch Vodka

Gluten-free and certified USDA organic, this is distilled from corn that was grown on the Minnesota farm owned by the family of the head distiller. It’s an assertive yet balanced spirit, with flavors of corn nuts and sweet potatoes complicated with quiet herbal notes that make the finish particularly fresh and well-suited to cocktails, especially when made with good dry vermouth.

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

This corn-based vodka, distilled in Austin, Texas, is fresh, subtly sweet, and seamed with spice, making it perfect for a Gibson, a dirty Martini, or even a cocktail with a bit of pickle brine in it.

Upstate Vodka

Crafted entirely from apples grown in New York State, and distilled by Sauvage Distillery in Charlotteville, New York, this is a wonderful different side of vodka: Ripe apple sweetness frames it all, and hints of brown-butter cookies and vanilla ring through the long, delicious finish. Try this one on the rocks, neat, or in a very dry Martini.

Woody Creek Vodka

This 100% Colorado potato vodka boasts notable aromatic complexity, with dried flowers and dehydrated apples, before a ripe, almost sweet palate of melons and mashed pears. While this will work in a range of cocktails, it’s easily good enough to sip on its own.

Wheyward Spirit

This is not a vodka — it doesn’t fit the technical definition — but a fantastic alternative spirit for a home bar that can be used in many of the same cocktails, though with slightly different results. It’s distilled from the whey that’s left over from dairy production and has a distinct coconut custard-like character alongside notes of orange creamsicle, mashed bananas, and vanilla pastry crème. In a riff on a Negroni (trust us here!), it’s remarkable.

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