Green Mark is one of the best-selling Russian vodka brands. It was released as late as 2003, but has since quickly risen to great popularity in Europe. After its launch in the USA, it also began to gain international attention. Green Mark is owned by the Russian Alcohol Group, part of a giant consortium of Industrial Investors Group. Green Mark is made of wheat and is produced in various parts of Russia.  Spetszakaz is a “special order” vodka, released in 2013 to celebrate the 10 years of the brand’s existence. It is a limited edition product on sale only in Russia. It is gently flavoured with ginger, lemon and cardamom. A 50 cl bottle was bought from Kaliningrad at an approximate price of 5€.

The aroma is malty, slightly lemony and nutty. It’s a little perfumed and doesn’t have the usual stench of ethanol at all. The taste is very soft and quite sweet. There is a certain grain aroma, with a nut-like nuance and very light herbiness in the background. The burn is moderate, but still clearly present and the vodka is very soft throughout. There is very little information about the production of vodka available, so it is not known whether the taste is softened with glucose syrup or other additives. It’s a little sweeter anyway than wheat vodka in general. The aftertaste is slightly spicy and herbal.

Zelenaya Marka Spetszakaz is a high quality vodka, the taste profile is different than usual. The spices used to flavour the vodka are used gently, they are easy to recognize but they are not too strong. Very good product, vodka which is easy to sip neat, even at room temperature. 

85/100