Costco Kirkland Signature US made Vodka (first taste)

Last week I mentioned that I purchased the new Kirland Signature vodka from Costco.  You can read about that here.  I finally got around to sampling it.  While packing for our road trip to Portland Oregon on Thursday night I suddenly had a the desire for a cocktail. I approached the wife and she concurred, martini time! I broke out the Costco Kirkland Signature vodka and went through the steps of making a perfect Martini. First I filled two crystal martini glasses with ice and then topped them with water. (It doesn’t make sense to pour an ice cold martini into a room temperature glass!) Secondly, I skewered three chilled queen green olives. Next I filled the shaker with a combination of ice cubes and cracked ice along with a large measure of Kirkland Signature Vodka. I then vigorously shook the warmth out of the vodka until the shaker was too cold to handle any longer. I presented my bride with an ice cold martini and she looked excited.


We both put the glasses to our mouths for our first sip and then looked at each other. It was not the look that either of us expected…. yet nothing was said. After 25 years of marriage and several martini’s shared together over the years, we knew what each other was thinking. The first impression was not great. Knowing that the taste of a first sip of a beverage can be skewed by what was recently consumed, we both went in for our second sample of the ice cold martini. This time my bride used works and said “I’m not impressed”. And either was I. What was I expecting? A smooth crisp taste was a refreshingly smooth finish. It had neither. The finish could only be described as harsh or sharp. We will finish the bottle, but will probably not purchase it again. I think Smirnoff is a better value and has a better taste and costs less. For the wife and I this is one of the few Kirkland Signature products that we have not been impressed with. And the funny thing, it was probably made be Smirnoff.