lalalalala, I got to get dough

This is a review of Bavarka vodka from Germany. I sampled it in Germany in 2013. It’s clear, 43% alcohol, and I thought it was great but too expensive.

So this one is from Germany, or rather: from Bavaria. I noticed this bottle on the shelves of a posh foods store in Munich, and I felt intrigued. The bottle was so pretty. It had such a pretty name. It was Bavarian.

Bavarian distillers

Searching for Bavarka vodka online eventually lands you on the website of Lantenhammer, a distillery in Bavaria. They’re mostly known for making brandies and whiskey:

Their website reminds me of Ketel One and Rutte in the way that they are trying to appear both professional and relatable:

Lots of distillers at work, and lots of facilities:

One thing that I found interesting was that they have decided to open part of their distillery to the public. Just like Rutte with their tasting room, Lantenhammer offers paying customers the opportunity to walk through the distillery and get tipsy in the process:

I almost forgot to mention that there’s a bunch of the obligatory company lore on their website:

Lantenhammer was founded in 1928 and initially produced gentian schnaps. Okay.

After all of this, the Bavarka vodka page is a bit of a let-down. There’s a picture of the bottle with a few words about the taste, and under it, there’s a link to the shopping cart:

I would have liked for this page to be a little bit more relatable as well. Every vodka brand needs a story, why doesn’t Bavarka have one? The only thing I took away from this is that they must have recently redesigned the bottle.

And I liked the old design better.

the brand video nobody watches

You know how I sometimes share advertisement videos of vodka brands here? Well, Lantenhammer has a nice little image film that apparently nobody ever watches:

If it’s been taken down in the meantime, I’ve got a short synopsis for you here.

So, there are lots of Bavarian nature shots:

You hear different people from the company talk about what it’s like to work for Lantenhammer:

One of them explains what it’s like to be Bavarian, “not the folksy kind, but the open-minded, successful, likeable kind”.

There’s a sense of pride in their company:

Again, the whole thing is a pretty neat mix of professionalism and relatability:

The reason I’m showing you this is not only because I think the video is nice. It’s because I find it fascinating that they went through the effort of making it – only to get almost completely ignored. At the time of this writing, the video has gathered 535 views. And it’s been online for two years.

Bavarka vodka is just too expensive

Back to our review: Bavarka vodka turned out to be almost completely smooth. This is impressive because the alcohol content is a bit higher than normal. Most vodka brands fluctuate between 37% and 40%, but Bavarka vodka sits at 43%. Respect where respect is due: Lantenhammer, you did well! The aftertaste was also great. There was a faint sense of sweetness in it that I very much enjoyed.

I’ve already told you that I loved the bottle design, so let’s get to the bad part: the price. Bavarka vodka costs a whopping 49€ for 700ml. That’s even more expensive than Kauffman and Stolichnaya Elit.

unless you’re rich

I would like to close this review of Bavarka vodka with a recommendation, but I’m not sure if I can do that. It’s a super-quality vodka, yes. It comes in a super-pretty bottle, also yes. But the price, man… You can find a very tasty brand for half the price. Heck, you can find it for one third or even one fourth the price!

Don’t get me wrong: Bavarka vodka is awesome. But you have to be a bit loose with your cash in order to enjoy it.