Skyy Vodka

I was always very fond of Skyy vodka, not for its smoothness or character (both quite excellent), but the incredibly beautiful blue bottle that it comes in. Its a similar size and shape to others, but the cobalt blue bottle, and Gold embossed lettering has always stood out in my mind as classy.

I collect a lot of drinking glass (the bottles and shot glasses), and Skyy Vodka has always been my favorite bottle of any of the hard liquor in the store (save some very original wine bottles), that I have seen so far. Grey Goose, skyy's aforementioned expensive cousin, also has a nice partially frosted artistically done bottle, making either a must to have in any liquor chest, should friends drop by.

Skyy vodka boasts being triple filtered and quadruple distilled with the hope of removing any of the alcohol's impurities that may lead to the next day's headache. Launched in 1992 by Skyy Spirits, LLC of San Francisco, it remains a well loved alcohol by vodka drinkers, and social drinkers alike.

A pretty blue bottle and promise—or a strong suggestion anyway—that it is hangover-free. Skyy's gimmick is a four step distillation process that creator Maurice Kanbar says eliminates congeners, the natural impurities that may or may not cause morning-after headaches, queasiness, etc..

Kanbar, a San Francisco inventor whose greatest prior accomplishment was a sweater de-fuzzer, targeted the young drinkers market with well-placed magazine adds and carefully nurtured word-of-mouth. After the product's hangoverless legend and customer base was established the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms forced Kanbar to edge away from his hangover-free claim. When asked he now says that sensitive drinkers can tell the difference.

Skyy Vodka ranks very high on my list as far as vodka goes, second only to a bottle of Stolichnaya Vodka and so staggeringly higher than Smirnoff, which is a genuinely vile substance made I think from petroleum distillates. Personally, I've never had Grey Goose Vodka due to limited funds. Besides the excellent taste, the lovely blue bottle is definitely a valid reason why so many originally began buying Skyy.