Product: Apollo White Nights Vodka Producer: Apollo Fine Spirits Approximate Retail Value: $11.95/750ml bottle Category: Vodka Country of Origin: Belgium Reviewer: Jerome D'Angelo The F Words: Flavor – Unflavored vodka. Feel – Clean, but harsh on the palate. Finish – No aftertaste, not very distinct.

Rating:

Every once in a while when feeling adventurous, I walk a few blocks to my local liquor store and pick up something new that I have never heard of before. The results have been mixed, but every once in a while I’m pleasantly surprised by what I find.

Not necessarily so in the case of Apollo White Nights, a grain vodka from Belgium made from an old Russian recipe. Exactly whose, it doesn’t say.  Nor does the bottle say much of anything else. Internet searches for it came up with precious little as well, save for one website that has it listed as an International Review of Spirits Silver Medal Award winner. This same website awarded Smirnoff a silver metal, too. Still, being of open mind, and thinking that it couldn’t possibly be any worse than Absolut, I decided to try it out.

First impressions are worth a lot, and as unflavored vodkas go, White Nights leaves a lasting one. Its bouquet is similar to vodkas like Ketel One and Stolichnaya, in that you might smell nothing save for the alcohol. When it comes to vodka, a “clean” look and taste is exactly the point. White Nights’ appearance is flawless. Its taste is not. It may hit the palate a bit too strongly for most if drank straight or on the rocks. This is a vodka better suited for mixing into screwdrivers or kamikazes; to be sure; the result here is quite favorable. It has enough quality for this reviewer to prefer it over flavored vodkas, however, and to its credit, White Nights leaves no aftertaste. The quintuple distillation certainly did its job. The initial feel of it on the tongue leaves more to be desired, though. This is a much better mixer than Absolut, but that’s really not saying very much.

Most times, it pays to be adventurous. Other times, you wish you had just bought the bottle of Stoli instead.