Re-Review: Zyr Vodka
So here’s a first on Drinkhacker: A second review of a spirit, four months after our initial coverage.
The folks at Zyr vodka thought I was off base with my original review — which was a lofty A- rating — but which ZYR felt should be even higher.
They sent a new bottle. Who am I to complain? I drank it.
I iced the Zyr for a day and tried it again straight. Again, immediately thought of lemon, a hint of pepper, and a strong bite on the finish that made me wince a little. Again I let it warm a tad, and the smoothness showed, softening the bite a lot. Tried it in a martini this time and, oddly, liked it much less here. A little bitter, perhaps. I went back to sipping it straight instead.
I have probably “grown” as a vodka drinker since first reviewing Zyr, and I found the bite less off-putting than in my original review, but this is still a grown-up vodka for sophisticated drinkers that don’t mind a little fire in their water. I like it almost as much as some other brands on the market, but at $30 a bottle I would find it difficult to recommend over Tito’s or Grey Goose, though it’d be a great addition to your liquor collection if someone else is paying. That said, I’d have no trouble recommending Zyr to anyone on its own merits.
I appreciate Zyr’s tenacity (and love them as people) — and you have to respect a company that stands behind its product to this degree — but I think the original A- rating is fair and accurate, at least for my palate.
80 proof.
Zyr Vodka (2nd Opinion)
$30
I really enjoyed my first bottle of Zyr, I found it smooth and did not feel it had any bite and enjoyed the hint of lemon and pepper. It can be a bit pricier than Grey Goose which is still my number one choice but I feel both are excellent vodkas.
Tony
ZYR is the best vodka on the market and it’s ultra smooth. Mixing it would be a sin. A real vodka connoisseur would appreciate such a purified drink. Grey Goose is a scam, overpriced, added sugars, glycerin-definitely not a shooter and can barely make it with a chaser. ZYR, on the other hand, is a pure as pure can get.
Were it priced more competitively to Grey Goose, ZYR could be considered a virtual successor to the throne. In all fairness though, the two vodkas are quite dissimlar in both mix and straight up, with ZYR holding a notable advantage in both areas. Less likely to linger and more predominant in arrangement and body than it is in the craft of its bottle, ZYR is the vodka you keep in the cabinet and away from the ice chest.
I don’t know where you guys are buying Zyr, but every place I have bought a bottle it was priced the same or less than Grey Goose … and there’s no comparison in the quality …. Zyr is light years better.
Tom / Sally
I totally agree with you. The places I have bought ZYR has been 5 dollars a 5th less than goose.
ZYR is pure and perfect. Goose is just decent vodka…right along with stoli. I will give the folks at Goose some credit….they have done a great job marketing it. It is now the standard by which vodka is measured. It just doesn’t stand up to zyr
My opinion is that it out-tastes Chopin, Ketel and Belvedere.
I agree with the other posters, ZYR is always cheaper than that nasty french sham of a vodka. I love it. Zyr makes me smile. I’ve changed sooo many goose drinkers minds. They thought the french knew what they were doing until they tasted Zyr. It is exceptionally smooth. By far the best vodka I’ve tasted. And what’s with the Tito’s recommendation? Blec! That stuff is horrid! I gave the rest of my bottle away.
Tasted Zyr while having a vodka flight at Red Square at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas. I was hooked. I just bought a bottle locally for the same price as Goose. Drink it neat, side by side with Goose and if you think Goose is superior, then your tastebuds are NOT.
I have been a ZYR fan for over 15 years and nothing compares!! It is most certainly the best vodka in the world!!!