How To Drink Vodka Straight And Actually Enjoy It

Compared to other boozy drinks like wine, it's less common to drink spirits by themselves. Even among the exceptions, it's tough to drink a glass of whiskey neat without feeling the burn if you're not used to it. Vodka has a bit of a reputation (to say the least) due to its strong burn and minimal flavor. Chances are, you're drinking vodka in a cocktail or throwing it back quickly in a shot glass. Still, we were curious about how someone might actually enjoy vodka served neat, which is why we spoke to Charles Joly, a world class bartender who teamed up with Ketel One to create the Official Sundance Film Festival Cocktail Lineup.

According to Joly, there is a known method for drinking vodka by itself: "Many parts of the world serve their vodka ice cold, which is by no means 'wrong' — this is tradition in some places and certainly makes it go down easy." This is how vodka is typically served in Russian drinking culture: completely straight and ice cold, albeit still usually in a small container like a shot glass. When a drink is served cold, it numbs our tastebuds and makes the drink more refreshing and easier to swallow. So by all means, put your vodka in the freezer because it won't freeze unless temperatures dip below 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Joly still personally prefers vodka cocktails to straight vodka, partly because shaking or stirring a cocktail also cools it down. When drinking vodka by itself, he recommends "a few large chunks of ice" and specifies that you should use solid, cubed ice rather than the flaky or nugget-shaped ice (known as soft ice), which melts quickly and over-dilutes the drink. Besides chilling the vodka itself, you can chill the glass beforehand. Chilled glasses are well-known to beer drinkers. It's why you should put down that frosted beer glass when drinking flavorful IPAs, while less-flavorful lagers benefit from these refreshingly cold glasses which make them more drinkable; same as it does for vodka.

However, vodka isn't actually flavorless. Joly explains that if you set up a vodka taste test, you'd absolutely notice flavor notes like citrus or pepper in different vodkas. Drinking it ice cold is more enjoyable, but it won't help you taste those notes. Joly says, "If you really want to taste the vodka, room temperature is always better. A very cold spirit will mute the flavors and aromas." You can always find flavored vodkas, which are made by steeping fruit in the spirit or via extracts. Chilling a flavored vodka would numb those added flavors, so you might consider sipping it room temperature instead if the flavor is what you're aiming for.