best price-taste ratio ever?

[40%, sampled in Uzbekistan]

So here’s the second vodka brand I tried when I was in Navoiy. I drank it with some friends I had made there. We all got a bit drunk. Not too much, but a bit.

some thoughts about Black Flag

I’m listening to “Damaged” by Black Flag, which is still one of the strongest hardcore/punk albums of all time. Incidentally, it was also one of the first CDs I’ve ever owned, along with MC Hammer’s “Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ’Em”, the “Last Action Hero” soundtrack and “Set It Off” by Madball.

Anyway, I’ve always thought it strange how Henry Rollins joined Black Flag in 1981 to record the immaculate “Damaged” album with them (apparently without really having anything to do with the songwriting), and then went ahead and flung Black Flag into post-hardcore Rollins Band boredom for the next dozen or so albums. A tragedy in itself.

cheap from Navoiy

Anyway, we were going to talk about vodka. The bottle I have here is called Navoiyskoe Zoloto (Навоийское Золото), which means “Gold from Navoiy”. This is the local stuff.

So you thought Tanho was affordable? Well, this here Navoiyskoe Zoloto cost me 7.500 Som for 450ml, putting it at about 2 euros for 700ml. Damn. This could be the cheapest vodka I’ve ever tried.

The bottle design is basically non-existent. It’s just a regular-ass bottle with a regular-ass label that looks like someone slapped it on in Soviet times. It reminded me of Tajikistan, but at least it had a screw cap.

Navoiyskoe Zoloto is fairly smooth

Here’s what happens when you open the bottle, though: the first thing that hits you is the smell. It’s as strong as you might expect from a vodka that is this affordable. Booze to get you drunk , simple as that. But what about the taste?

Turns out it was actually quite gentle. There was a hint of sweetness in the initial taste of Navoiyskoe Zoloto, and it went down a lot more easily than expected.

a pleasant notion of wheat

The aftertaste was even more surprising: it was aromatic and pleasant. I was sensing a notion of wheat or bread in there, something nicely satisfying.

If you’ve got two or three € laying around, get this one!