Napoléon

Azerbaijan
Taste
5
Aftertaste
7
Design
4
Price
10
6.5

where is this vodka really from?

[40%, sampled in Azerbaijan]

This one was part of my vodka experiment when I was in the old town of Sheki in Azerbaijan in the summer of 2018. I went to a little shop, bought a few bottles, got some food to go along with them, and then I went back to my room and had a good time.

This particular brand was called Napoléon, which sounded like it was going to be either very good or very bad.

French, Russian, or Azeri

One initial problem I had with this vodka was that it had a French name (even with a little accent on the É) while saying GENUINE RUSSIAN VODKA on the label and also claiming to be FROM AZERBAIJAN. I figured this probably meant that it had been produced in Azerbaijan according to Russian production standards, and that the name was just random.

random branding

I paid 5 Manat for this half-liter bottle of Napoléon, which put it somewhere at the unbelievable 4€/700ml mark. Apparently Caucasian vodka prices were down there with Central Asian ones. A 10/10.

The bottle design didn’t do anything for me. It looked cheap. The branding seemed random. Also, it was a bit hard to open the bottle, and it had a cork-like cap that was difficult to reseal. The pouring sound was good, though.

Napoléon is on fire

I’m still not sure what I think about the taste. The smell had something slightly sweet to it, promising good things. But then the vodka burned in my mouth and all the way down my throat.

The aftertaste was a bit better, though. It was almost flowery.

needs a redo

Overall, I think whoever produces this Napoléon vodka should thoroughly redesign the bottle and work on lowering the fieriness of the initial taste. It could be a solid vodka.

This way it’s meh.