Sales of Popov vodka are up sharply, and one liquor store manager in New Jersey says he sold out of Majorska, $9.49 a bottle.
Posted on 03/08/2009 9:50:32 AM PDT by dennisw
Tom Smith, the spirits director at Union Square Wines in Manhattan, says he doesn’t carry Popov in his store because he associates it with his days of waiting tables, when he used it to polish silverware.
Even Diageo, the liquor conglomerate that owns the Popov brand, seems reluctant to own up to it. Popov, which can sell for less than $9 a 750-milliliter bottle, isn’t mentioned on its Web site, and when asked about the brand, a company spokeswoman kept trying to steer the conversation toward pricier spirits.
And it’s not just vodka that has been “popularized.” The trade-down effect is even more pronounced in wine, merchants say.
“The lower-end stuff is definitely flying out the door,” said Claire Defoe, a manager at the Sherry-Lehmann wine store in Manhattan.
“People don’t want to hear about that $700 bottle of wine,” she said. For wine, “$15 to $30 is the sweet spot right now.”
The resurgence of low-priced wine and spirits shows quite a turnabout for an industry that has been the happy beneficiary of America’s long and reckless infatuation with luxury goods. During the last decade, alcohol marketers came up with an astounding array of high-priced products.
During that same period, budget brands, long in decline, have started growing again.
“The pace of premiumization has slowed,” he said. “Strong, trusted, high-value brands are what people are migrating to.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sales of Popov vodka are up sharply, and one liquor store manager in New Jersey says he sold out of Majorska, $9.49 a bottle.
Recession got you down? Have a few shots of Povov to get your mind off it
Wow. Life must really suck if you resort to drinking $9 a bottle vodka.
Vodka = alcohol + water, and nothing else.
I noticed that the liquor store near me always seems busy. Not sure if everyone has switched to the cheaper stuff though. .........
They will when they get next month’s 401K statement
A good friend who was a Skyy drinker is now a Burnett's fan after one of the aforementioned taste tests.
Stoli is priced at $28.99
Skyy at $24.99 locally
Burnett's...$14.99
Read the reviews online and do your own taste test.
Actually, there are varying qualities of alcohol and water.
Good vodka is smooth and easy on the taste buds (usually comes from careful filtering--I prefer 4 times--and good quality ingredients).
I also find that another important quality in vodka is how agreeable it is phyically (i.e. even a small amount of poor quality vodka can have negative consequences for tummy disturbance and/or headache).
I'll give it a try.
“Read the reviews online and do your own taste test.”
When I did that I saw that Smirnoff always came in just below the top two or three in blind taste tests making it a very good choice to save a buck.
I also noticed that the most over rated vodka was Grey Goose, repeatedly people would identify it as their personal favorite and then pan it in blind taste tests.
I do a lot of shopping at Trader Joes, and I pray that they never issue "club cards" like most of the other retail grocery chains have done.
My liver screams out in terror....
Too bad there wasn't one for the Presidential election.
And the next morning must really suck.
It’s still better than Karkov vodka. $7.99 for a 1 liter plastic bottle. ...or the $5 bottle of stuff just labeled “Vodka.”
That sounds like grappa. I bet they make it out of all the grape pressings. We have a Trader Joe's in town but they can not sell hard booze, only wine and beer. I will look for it at the liquor store on my next visit.
I’m thinking Bud sales are going to soar.
Sorry, but if it's corn, it really isn't Vodka. It's corn liquor. If you want vodka, look for potatoes, or at least rye. If you want corn squeezings, look for some Georgia Moon. At least it's fresh when it's sold.
Corn liquor, if it's highly distilled and filtered, IS vodka.
Vodka is basic distilled ethanol. You can make it out of any kind of sugar/starch. You can buy a bag of sugar at the store and make your own although I don't know why anyone would bother since it's so cheap.
You don’t have to spend a lot to get good booze-Heaven Hill and Cabin Still bourbons are less than $10 per 750ml bottle...
Stoli Elite goes for $50 I believe..
Ah yes, the days of Boonesfarm and md2020...
It makes you talk to your friend Raaaaaaaaplh!
Who drives a Buuuuuuuuick!
I’m sticking with huffing whippet canisters and drinking anti-freeze myself.....That Popov stuff will kill ya ;)
I always felt woozy from it the next day but never from Schmirnoff which is/was high quality enough for me
But I knew a Polish born guy who liked Povov and Poles should know vodka
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