Crystal head’s skull bottles are iconic, but we wanted to know if the spirit — which is filtered through diamonds — lived up to the premium price tag. Asda has announced nine new drinks lines, including a premium botanical gin, cream liqueurs and flavoured gins

The pinnacle of perfection for vodka-makers? Perhaps, it’s something very much like water. After all that’s what the word “vodka” actually means in Russian.Bacon Bloody Mary — a truly outrageous start to the weekend, try updating your beloved Bloody Mary with real bacon and plenty of spice. Koskenkorva Vodka Original showed all the qualities needed to bag a Master medal in the Scandinavia segment of the Eastern European round.

Many people think vodka is made from potatoes, and it can be, but more specifically, vodka is made from any source of starch or sugar, plus yeast. Because starch is just a long chain of sugars, it can be broken down into sugar with added enzymes. The primary sources of starch used to make vodka include wheat, rye, corn, rice, potatoes, barley and soy. Common sources of sugar include sugar cane, molasses, sugar beets, honey, maple syrup and fruits such as grapes and apples. Ciroc is made from French “snap frost” grapes, which are left to ripen into early winter. This means they freeze while on the vine, resulting in a higher sugar content.Vodka is usually produced using the same grains; wheat, rye, corn etc. However, vodka can also be started with vegetable mashes such as white beets and potatoes, and using these ingredients – and with the end goal being alcohol that is completely free of any old flavours that usually characterise other alcoholic drinks – means that vodka needs to go through a few extra steps in the distillation and filtration phases. My personal preference by far is ARDBEG 10, but I would never say it is better, simply it is different enough to be my personal preference.