I can also be numbered amongst those who appreciate vodka's qualities as a spirit. And as I preach over and over again, you can very definitely taste differences in the quality and base of vodkas. The grape comes across easily in Ciroc, there is the spiciness of rye vodkas like Belvidere, the mellowness of potato vodkas like Chopin, and the harshness in vodka like Grey Goose. How can this be, when (at least by law in the U.S.) vodkas must be distilled to extremely high proof before dilution to bottling proof. How could the few percent that isn't alcohol affect the flavors? Well, most of the compounds that produce flavor and aroma (aromatics, phenols, esters, etc) are extremely potent compounds. Extremely. So there are some scientific legs under the hypothesis that there really is discernible flavor in such 'neutral' spirit. I wish I had a gas chromatograph so I could find out what exactly is in these spirits, but I do know that it doesn't take much to produce noticeable flavor changes. One compound I do know about -- the phenols that make Scotch smoky -- are present in unbelievably minute amounts. The difference between the smokiest of Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin and whiskies with no discernable smoke is phenol content of less than 100 parts per million. Less than 0.0004%. That said, I've not yet had Tito's, but have also heard good things about it. ~ Huntsman
