that fresh Siberian water

This is a review of Five Lakes vodka from Russia. I sampled it in Germany in 2011. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, and I thought it was pretty epic.

When I went to the Russian store the other day and picked up that bottle of Kedrovitsa I also got this one: Five Lakes vodka – Пять Озёр. I didn’t think much of it. It was going to be just another medium-shelf Russian vodka. Or so I thought. Little did I know that it was going to turn out to be really fucking awesome.

lots of lakes

So Five Likes vodka, just like Kedrovitsa, belongs to Alcohol Siberian Group. And, just like Kedrovitsa, Five Lakes vodka has a dedicated page there:

These pages are often very similar to each other. They tend to go on and on about the quality of the grain and about the purity of the water. But in this case, the FACTS section was interesting:

According to this website, Five Lakes vodka is one of the biggest vodka brands in Russia. They even managed to eclipse Russian Standard in sales in 2012. Quite the accomplishment.

Maybe it is for this reason that Five Lakes vodka has its own stylish website at 5ozer.com:

There isn’t much there, though. It just looks pretty.

evoking Siberia

One thing that I’ve learned so far is that almost every vodka brand needs a certain marketing angle to reach its customers. For Kalashnikov it’s guns. For Istanblue it’s a pun. And for Crystal Head it’s the shape of the bottle.

Five Lakes vodka is pushing the Siberian angle: PURE LAKES and PRISTINE TAIGA, water that CONTAINS SILVER, you get the idea. I guess a lot of people like to think of Mother Nature when they sit down in their kitchen to get hammered.

Five Lakes vodka is the shit

Anyway, back to our review. I have to say Five Lakes vodka was a real surprise. The vodka tasted extremely smooth and unique – it almost felt cool before it went down. And yet it still made for a nice warm feeling and a full aroma in the aftertaste. If that’s the taste of Siberia then I want to go there. Or actually I want to go there anyway.

I thought the bottle design was simple but not too bad. And the pricing of about 12€ for 700ml was very good.

drink neat

To conclude our review, I think Five Lakes vodka should definitely be enjoyed neat and at room temperature. It is just that good a vodka. Have some bread on the side. And some pickles. And a glass of water.

And here’s one thing you should also do: try to imagine the cool waters of the Five Lakes (one of which is hidden, as I have learned from their website). Take a sip and try to hold it for a little while on your tongue. Let it burn for a while.

Then drink it, the cold hot water of the Five Lakes.