Drink Of The Week: Svedka

For the first DOTW of the semester I am going with the drink I would say I get the most. Svedka is cheap vodka, but still decent quality. For $20 a handle you get vodka that doesn't taste like complete shit. (See: zhenka.) The quality of Svedka is in between Grey Goose and zhenka, meaning you won't want to sip on it, unless you're straight from Russia, (or Sweden) but it tastes fine with some orange juice, cranberry juice and I'm told, in martinis. At 40% alcohol (80 proof) the price per alcohol content is actually pretty cheap.

My favorite drink with Svedka is a screwdriver, simply orange juice and vodka. I can only handle so much orange juice, plus it's expensive, so if I'm planning on having a few drinks I usually go with some cranberry juice, which is known as a Cape Cod or Cape Coder. Vodka is known to sneak up on you so pay attention to your intake or you'll be puking all night... or the next morning. The thing I like about Svedka is that you are able to mix it with just about anything and it doesn't result in you instantly feeling like shit and waking up with an insane hangover. I can't guarantee that, but every time I've had other cheap vodkas (zhenka) I have bad hangovers. During my freshman year I used to drink Svedka and diet Coke. Don't do that, it tastes absolutely terrible, stick with juices. Vodka can be tough to take as a shot, but if your fridge has a freezer cold vodka is much smoother to drink or take a shot of when it is chilled. I just have a mini dorm fridge with a tiny freezer compartment so I usually poor some vodka into a water bottle or two and let it get real cold. There are hundreds of other mixes with vodka, but those are a few of my personal favorites.

Stay classy, not UMassy.