Ultimate Beverage Challenge 89 points - Ultimate Beverage Challenge (Mar 2011)
Stolichnaya, the most prestigious vodka brand in the world reveals it's prized possession, Elit.
Discover a remarkable combination of elegance and mystique. Nobility and purity. Prestige and pleasure. Elit's unmistakable purity is the result of the highest quality ingredients, centuries-old traditions and above all, a unique and revolutionary 'freezing' filtration process, specially developed and patented by the SPI Group. This expensive, labor and time consuming procedure filters the spirit at sub-zero temperatures reaching -18 C, so that the liquid's density increases causing all impurities to freeze against the walls of the filtration tanks. These unwanted crystalline substances are then discarded from the distillate, allowing the selection of nothing but the purist of spirits for their select formula of Elit.
The result is a vodka like no other. A rare spirit that ranks among the finest and smoothest in the world, Elit. Tasting vodka is different from tasting other alcoholic drinks (including wine) because we are looking for an absence of flavor in vodka. Vodka is alcohol in it's purest form and the less flavor the better. Cheaper vodkas can have a pronounced burn on the back of the throat (the finish) due to a faster and cheaper filtration.