Tasting

Good rye vodka rarely tastes neutral like water, even though that's often claimed. On the palate, a slight sweetness from the grain lingers, along with a fine, almost peppery undertone. It comes from the rye mash and is usually absent in wheat or corn vodka, where a different grain drives fermentation.

Stumbras from Kaunas offers several variants at once. Stumbras Vodka Classic is the classic base bottling, while Stumbras Vodka Centenary was released to mark the distillery's hundred-plus-year milestone. There's also an organic version called Stumbras Vodka Organic, made from certified organically grown grain.

Anyone wanting to taste it should pour a small, chilled glass, not filled to the brim. The vodka should be ice-cold, since cold dampens the sharp alcohol aroma and makes the finer flavors accessible in the first place.

A first sip should linger briefly in the mouth before going down. A piece of bread or a sip of water follows, resetting the tongue before the next sip. This way, by the second glass, you can already compare rather than just feel the alcohol.

Alongside the clear vodka, it's worth trying Starka, the rye spirit aged in oak casks. It's amber-colored and tastes of wood, vanilla, and a hint of apple. This shows just how much a few years in the cask can do with the same raw material.

Between Classic, Centenary, and Starka lies, in the end, the same rye. Only the path differs: through the column, into the cask, or with no further aging at all.