My establishment just got a few freebies of Goose Vanilla to sample. I have
always thought that a quality vodka should be good enough to drink straight
and this is a quality vodka. It is in the same tradition as the other Goose
products - smooth, high quality, and very drinkable. Since this vodka is made
with real vanilla beans and not just extract, it is very subtle and mild,
without the candy plastic taste that most vanilla vodkas have. The quibble
here, however, is that few people who are looking for vanilla vodkas drink
them straight. In my opinion, this vodka would work well in martinis, but if
you are mixing this with soda/coke/diet/ginger you will be better served
drinking a stronger flavored vodka like Absolut, Stoli, or Smirnoff.
Of course, there is always the *snob appeal* of the Goose. I work in a place
where the clientele has more money than they know what to do with, Goose is
the easiest sell -- even if they are drinking it extra tall with diet Coke.
After this many years in the biz, I just don't ask anymore.
"A woman drove me to drink and I never even had the courtesy to thank her." --
W. C. Fields