Do you have a favourite brand of vodka? Why do you like it and prefer it over others?. Have you ever been to the liquor store and notice the varying prices of vodka? I went to the website of the local store and noticed prices per bottle ranging from $20.00 – $80.00. I know what you’re thinking, what is your point and have you been drinking Vodka? The answer to both of these questions is, “I’ll get there.”

I first heard of a similar story on NPR’s Planet Money and wanted to investigate further. The reason that I bring up pricing with these Vodka brands is because by law, yes there are rules and parameters when you are making alcohol, vodka is colourless, odorless and tasteless. If that is the case, why is there such a price discrepancy?

Here’s what Planet Money attempted to uncover. Every Vodka, no matter how cheap, has to be distilled with the above characteristics. Canada has similar approach. Under the current Canadian vodka standard, vodka must be made from grain or potato spirits, treated with charcoal, and be devoid of distinctive character, aroma or taste.

So for those who said you had a favourite vodka and believed because it was for its taste, are you second guessing yourself?

Now reviewing the website I spoke about earlier, there are some differences between the more premium and economical bottles of vodka. The biggest one that stands out is the bottle look. Take a look at the Crystal Head Onyx Vodka. The bottle is shaped like a skull in a matte black finish. Pretty cool. And a pretty penny – $80/750ml. The Wheatley Vodka from Kentucky of the same size is your traditional clear bottle with a generic label. It is selling for $28.20. Another interesting note. The Crystal Head Onyx was 40% alcohol level. The Wheatley Vodka – 41%.

Despite this, if I asked what are the most common vodka brands on the market, many will come to mind. Smirnoff, Absolut, Grey Goose and Ciroc tend to pop up. What is interesting is how they capture this market share. For the vodka market, selling on taste or flavour does not make the most sense. But you can make it look like your vodka is more premium than others is through partnerships and image.

For example, Diddy joined Ciroc at a time when they sold 70,000 cases/year in 2007. By 2011 they were up to 1.4M. Grey Goose started shipping product in wood crates as opposed to cardboard boxes when they launched in hopes bar tenders would pay attention to the quality and detail and trickle down to customers. Not to mention the countless songs Grey Goose appeared from Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi and Jay Z. And I quote, “I hit the club, ordered some Grey Goose, Switched it for Ciroc to give Puff’s stock a boost” What a nice gesture.

So there you have it. The true story of Vodka and importance of marketing to differentiate a product that may very well be the same. By the way, rumours have it that Grey Goose also copacks the Costco vodka in the US. This is not proven but you can understand how this could easily be done without much manipulation to formulation or ingredients. That being said, I don’t think Jay-Z will be rapping about Kirkland Costco and for many Grey Goose customers, that’s all that matters.