When did it become trendy?
It's been popular for about 5 or 6 years at least. I remember driving by the plant on a road trip after we left Austin.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | February 23, 2021 9:13 PM |
Gives me the worst hangover...
by Anonymous | reply 2 | February 23, 2021 9:14 PM |
They do good work for homeless animals.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | February 23, 2021 9:15 PM |
Is it as good as stolichnaya?
by Anonymous | reply 4 | February 23, 2021 9:16 PM |
Possibly became popular b/c it is sold at Trader Joe's & on airplanes (United Air, IIRC).
I don't drink any more, but I did get sick on Tito's a couple of times. I wanted to like it because it's made in the U.S. For some reason, I've never gotten sick from Absolut vodka.
Anyway, my drinking days are over! I've had enough for my lifetime.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | February 23, 2021 9:21 PM |
It's been popular for at least a decade in West Coast cities. Because of the particular distillation processes they use, it's actually less likely than other liquors, and even other vodkas, to cause intense hangovers. Of course, it always comes does to volume. You might try drinking less than 750ml in a sitting, R2.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | February 23, 2021 9:21 PM |
Timely question, as I'm going out tomorrow to buy vodka!
My fave, Stolichnaya 100 Proof, is scarce as hen's teeth. Tito hasn't impressed me.
So I'm hoping to read of favorites here! Potato, grain, other? Import or US?
I don't think I'd care for any flavored ones.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | February 23, 2021 9:22 PM |
About ten years ago.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | February 23, 2021 9:26 PM |
New Amsterdam gives me the worst hangovers at the moment. I'm gonna give this one a try. I need something less intense in the mornings.
How did you quit drinking R5?
by Anonymous | reply 9 | February 23, 2021 9:28 PM |
R9, two years ago, I decided to stop drinking for a while. After a while, I just decided to stop completely (I hope). My therapist had asked me how much I was drinking and suggested that I stop, so that was the first impetus.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | February 23, 2021 9:32 PM |
Potato vodka imbiber, here, R7. Luksusowa.
I rarely drink vodka neat, but I've been meaning to try Tito's. Thanks for the reminder, OP.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | February 23, 2021 9:33 PM |
It's good and reasonably priced.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | February 23, 2021 9:58 PM |
I think Tito's has a noticeable salty taste. In my experience, not hangover friendly.
Another Absolut or Russian Standard fan.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | February 23, 2021 10:01 PM |
I asked a bartender about this, since I kept noticing people asking it by name for their vodka sodas and other basic drinks. From her point of view, they marketed themselves as being gluten-free during the gluten-free mania and people responded to that. I do not care so much about that and all vodka tastes the same to me unless it is truly garbage (Crystal Palace, Kamchatka), so I can't comment on their quality.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | February 23, 2021 10:04 PM |
I had a Tito's martini (very dry) and it was completely tasteless even for a vodka.
Ketel One is a good go to vodka IMO, but my favorites are Belvedere and Chopin.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | February 23, 2021 10:08 PM |
Tito’s always gives me a headache. I like Costco Kirkland vodka but I’m cheap like that.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | February 23, 2021 10:13 PM |
My preferred vodka is Gray Goose
by Anonymous | reply 17 | February 23, 2021 10:16 PM |
Huge vodka appreciator here.
IMO, potato vodkas are far superior to grain vodkas. Luksusowa is superb and relatively cheap Polish potato vodka. If you insist on top shelf, prestige brands, Chopin is fantastic.
Chopin makes a rye vodka that is very good, but better and more affordable rye vodka is Sobieski.
Grey Goose and Ketel One are nice wheat vodkas, but for my money, I prefer Russkij Standart (Russian Standard), but not their “Platinum” version.
But my all time, favorite vodka is Finlandia. It is made with barley and is the smoothest vodka I have ever drunk. It’s what I drink for shots and on the rocks. I read an interview with a Finlandia executive some years ago, after Absolut, Stolichnaya, and others debuted “premium” versions of their brands. He said that there was no way to improve their product but, if pressed, he could make new packaging but it would contain the same vodka. LOL
Tito’s gained traction with consumers about the same time that artisanal IPAs and local brews burst onto the scene, as a “small batch” distiller. Its deal with American Airlines did not hurt. I find it too medicinal for my taste.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | February 23, 2021 10:22 PM |
Tito's became trendy in the mid-00s (about 15 years ago) when tech, music and media types sampled it at SXSW and brought it back to NY/SF/LA with them.
It was American-made which gave it some appeal at the time and relatively well-priced compared to Ketel One, Grey Goose et al.
As mentioned above, they struck a deal with United shortly after that (2013) and really broke out.
Most vodkas taste the same, especially corn vodkas and potato vodkas, especially as few Americans drink them without mixers.
Friends who worked in bars and restaurants all have stories about how unscrupulous owners would refill Grey Goose, Stoli and K1 bottles with Smirnoff or even Popov vodka and no one was every any the wiser, though many would claim to be able to taste the difference, even in a mixed drink with fruit juice.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | February 23, 2021 10:25 PM |
[quote]I asked a bartender about this, since I kept noticing people asking it by name for their vodka sodas and other basic drinks. From her point of view, they marketed themselves as being gluten-free during the gluten-free mania and people responded to that.
Great example of why a single person's opinion is more or less worthless: it's merely anecdotal info. Tito's is now the top-selling vodka in the entire *country*. It ain't just gluten-free Karens ordering the stuff during their CorePower cooldowns.
R19's account of it gaining the attention of various influencers (pre-Instagram version) at SXSW, thanks to it being distilled in Austin, is how it started becoming trendy right around the time consumers were looking for a less-expensive – but still "trendy" – alternative to the so-called "super-premium vodkas" like Belvedere & Ketel One. Btw Tito (as in Tito's inventor, Tito Beveridge) is now worth $9 billion. Not too shabby!
But really, if you're just ordering vodka-mixed drinks, you may as well get, um, well vodka. (It's a myth – propagated mainly by Skye Vodka for most of its history – that some types of vodka are "purer" than others, and less likely to give you a hangover, but that's bullshit. Clear liquors have lower hangover potential than dark ones, but vodkas are largely similar in this regard.)
by Anonymous | reply 20 | February 23, 2021 10:37 PM |
I love Tito's too.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | February 23, 2021 10:38 PM |
Give me the cheap ass Skol’s. I never drink vodka straight and always mix it with something so I don’t need expensive shit.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | February 23, 2021 10:39 PM |
[quote] or even Popov vodka
Yikes. I drank a straight shot of Popov during college and remember it going down my throat like battery acid.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | February 23, 2021 10:40 PM |
Vodka is the only alcohol I like that isn’t wine/champagne or beer.
I drink absolut or New Amsterdam.
Never had Tito’s but it’s been popping up everywhere suddenly. And the price went up by me.
It was $15 for a 1 L and now it’s almost $30. That makes me think it’s become popular
by Anonymous | reply 24 | February 23, 2021 10:46 PM |
No doubt R23, but at a fratty bar where drinks are served in Solo cups and a small amount gets mixed into an Orange Crush or Greyhound that's 80% fruit juice and ice chips, you'd be very unlikely to notice to notice it's not the Ketel One you thought you ordered. Especially by the time you were on your fourth drink.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | February 23, 2021 10:46 PM |
R25, oh, I remember those days of red solo cups and OJ mixed half/half with some shitty Smirnoff vodka. You're right that Grey Goose would be wasted on that crowd.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | February 23, 2021 10:50 PM |
[quote] but it’s been popping up everywhere suddenly.
Where do you live R24?
I feel like Tito's was what everyone I knew (straight and gay) in NY and LA drank about ten years ago, then it sort of got too popular and Smirnoff had a brief comeback because it seemed retro... and then I met my now husband and stopped going to bars and have no idea what vodka people are drinking. May well be that Tito's is on the upswing.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | February 23, 2021 10:52 PM |
Who is Tito?
by Anonymous | reply 28 | February 23, 2021 11:30 PM |
From R20, for R28
[quote] Tito (as in Tito's inventor, Tito Beveridge) is now worth $9 billion. Not too shabby!
by Anonymous | reply 29 | February 23, 2021 11:38 PM |
very trendy. I'm not a fan of the name because it makes me think it is tequila.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | February 23, 2021 11:40 PM |
I think it's popular because it tastes decent, it's reasonably priced, it has attractive packaging, and it has a unique name that makes it easy to order out at a bar. Order a "Tito's soda" or "Tito's cranberry" and you know you'll get a decent quality drink and won't pay a fortune.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | February 23, 2021 11:53 PM |
Grey Goose is my preferred brand. It's high quality and has the least hangover/side effects in my opinion. Goes down smooth and wears off predictably. But it's pricey.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | February 23, 2021 11:54 PM |
I never got the bottle/label design for this, at a glance I would have initially assumed this was a white rum. I used to be a hardcore rum drinker, and would make it a point to try out every single brand whenever I would buy it, but rum never had a "premium" market/brand at the time aside from Mount Gay Extra Old.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | February 23, 2021 11:55 PM |
No one pay attention to any replies above. It's stalker/hacker troll hoping to get my attention. Tres triste.
No mention of Iceberg or Helix. Only these vodkas make it possible for me to metabolize clear liquor.
Halt it w/Helix! when the visions come 'round (see R/Datalounge on Reddit or Mi'kmaq Métis Prediction thread here on LaLounge)
Anywho, the # of distillations usually make the difference. Helix is an Icelandic/French production effort. Iceberg is water from icebergs. Should be really be doing that if global warming theories are authentic? Of course. Then when they melt there will be less of a threat of flooding. Ha! Iceberg is the official vodka of Air Canada to insure there's no 'incidents' amongst the passengers
Recently tried a bazillion times distilled Swedish vodka when both brands above unavailable. A pet did something assholish & I felt myself snapping as I would off of Sky/Smirnoff/Grey Goose, Belvedere/Chopin/Absolut
Out of former employee representative loyalty for Finlandia..gave it another shot. Hangover! When snagged that contract was sober for years. They were amongst the first to offer blends. 'Spokesperson' for their cranberry blend. I'd always laugh to myself that they chose me over actual Finns, Estonians & other Scandinavians to represent their brand. Beat out Germans as well for Jaegermeister. Just had 'the look's but more refined as a native Canadian. Another score for North America
Thought Tito's was tequila?
For my stalker: Walt & Jesse of Breaking Bad teamed together for DOS HOMBRES, mezcal artisanal
DRIZLY CODE: DHFAM
Thought of you
Bottoms up
by Anonymous | reply 34 | February 24, 2021 12:40 AM |
I'm not sure it did become popular, we'd all drink anti-freeze currently to alleviate the fucking boredom.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | February 24, 2021 12:44 AM |
What the actual fuck are you on about R34?
by Anonymous | reply 36 | February 24, 2021 12:46 AM |
Ugh.
I drink Fog Point.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | February 24, 2021 12:47 AM |
I remember about 12 years or so ago a friend bought a bottle to a barbecue I was hosting. I looked at the cheap looking label and joked "What the fuck is this cheap shit?! Tito's?". Flash forward to every year since: me at a bar: "Tito's and soda please"
by Anonymous | reply 38 | February 24, 2021 3:01 AM |
As evidenced by this thread, the power of marketing is truly something.
(FWIW, B-School marketing classes usually talk about the upscaling of vodka, how advertising and packaging took a product with few noticeable differences from brand to brand and allowed some brands to be deemed superior and worth double the price.)
by Anonymous | reply 39 | February 24, 2021 1:05 PM |
When it comes to vodka, I trust the true Mistress of the happy water....Miss Joan Crawford.
So I drink Smirnoff 100 proof.
Just like Pal-ee used to.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | February 24, 2021 2:33 PM |
Belvedere for martinis...
by Anonymous | reply 41 | February 24, 2021 2:57 PM |
As vodka martini drinkers, we like Absolut and Grey Goose when ordering out. At home (because we're cheap), we use Luksusowa (mentioned above) and Vesica (another potato-based Polish vodka that's relatively inexpensive). However, my brother-in-law recently introduced us to Gallant, a French wheat-based vodka. It was fantastic!
by Anonymous | reply 42 | February 24, 2021 8:19 PM |
So cool that Queen Victoria is posting on DL now. Love the architecture R42, though not really the morality.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | February 24, 2021 8:24 PM |
R3 now that I know that I’ll buy them next time I’m getting vodka
by Anonymous | reply 44 | February 24, 2021 8:27 PM |
We are not amused, R43
by Anonymous | reply 45 | February 24, 2021 8:28 PM |
I worked at a bar in Austin. Around 2003/2004 is when began carrying it and the people who asked for it were usually assholes.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | February 24, 2021 8:30 PM |
I heard the factory in Texas was destroyed during the recent bad weather when an an oven being used for heat exploded. Luckily, no one seriously injured. But, we all be drinking Belvedere for the foreseeable future.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | February 24, 2021 8:49 PM |
[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]
by Anonymous | reply 48 | February 25, 2021 12:20 AM |