Why Craft Vodka Is Worth the Premium

A bottle of mass-market vodka costs $20. A bottle of craft vodka costs $35–60. The price difference is real, but so is the difference in what's in the bottle. Here's what you're paying for when you spend up on craft vodka, and whether it's worth it.

The base ingredient

Mass-market vodkas use the cheapest fermentable raw material the producer can source — typically corn or wheat in industrial quantities. Craft vodkas often use unusual or higher-quality bases: heritage grains, single-origin potatoes, grapes, milk whey, or in our case, California dates. The base shows up in the finished spirit. Our Oasis Vodka, made from dates, has a softness and slightly floral character that grain vodkas don't have.

The distillation method

Mass-market vodka is column-distilled to be as neutral as possible — the legal definition of vodka demands neutrality, and column stills produce extremely high-proof, character-stripped spirits. Craft vodka is often pot-distilled, which retains more of the base ingredient's character in the finished spirit. The trade-off is throughput: a pot still produces less per day than a column still, which is part of why craft vodka costs more.

Production scale

Industrial vodka producers run thousands of gallons through column stills continuously, twenty-four hours a day. Craft producers run hundreds of gallons per batch, batch by batch, with humans making cuts (deciding what to keep and what to discard). The labor cost is part of the price difference. So is the consistency of paying attention.

Does it actually taste better?

In a martini, in a craft cocktail, neat — yes, the difference is real. Mass-market vodka is engineered to vanish into a mixer. Craft vodka is engineered to be tasted. If you're making vodka sodas with lime, the upgrade is small. If you're making martinis or drinking vodka neat, the upgrade is enormous.

Is it worth it?

If you drink vodka straight or in classics where the vodka is the point (martini, espresso martini, Moscow mule), yes. If your vodka is going into Red Bull at a tailgate, save your money. The premium pays back when you can taste the difference; the premium is wasted when you can't.

Where to next

Shop Oasis Vodka, learn how vodka is made, or read about date-based vodka.