I’m sure you can remember the wonderful smell of that clear liquid stuff that your mom poured on your cuts and scrapes when you were a kid…rubbing alcohol. Ah yes, how could we forget that all too-familiar smell? That’s exactly what this spirit reminded me of. I thought that after the first few sniffs the alcohol smell would dissipate and the true aroma would present itself. Nope. Fat chance. Maybe this stuff really is rubbing alcohol.
Frïs Vodka was discovered back in the 1980s when a Danish distiller developed a now patented process that he referred to as freeze distillation. Traditionally, most spirits are distilled by heating the liquid up to a high enough temperature until the alcohol evaporates from the water, and then the alcohol is condensed to return it to a liquid form. Not the case for this vodka. The reverse process is actually performed; the spirit is cooled down until it is frozen. Believe it or not, it is distilled six times before moving on. Supposedly, this process allows for the removal of certain impurities that cannot be removed with the traditional distillation process. In fact, the spirit is subjected to a three step filtration process to remove the impurities. The name came from the Danish for “frost and ice” and actually got the blessing of the Queen of Denmark at the time.
I wasn’t very impressed with this one. As I mentioned before, the smell reminds me of rubbing alcohol. As far as the taste goes, I really didn’t taste anything that would set this one apart from other vodkas. I still feel the best way to consume a vodka is chilled in the freezer or on the rocks. Sipping the spirit produced more of a burn than a pleasant taste in my mouth. I almost made that bitter beer face after the first sip. Mixing it with Sprite© brightened the taste up a bit, thus producing a decent mixability rating. I didn’t mix it with orange juice, because I really don’t think it would have helped. I would imagine the lime-flavored variety of this stuff tastes a little better. I would liken the buzz factor to the buzz obtained from drinking a six-pack of beer. The buzz is slow to form and doesn’t hit you suddenly like a freight train. The next morning I didn’t have much of a headache, but I did feel drained and useless the entire day. However, I think the Cruzan 151 rum I drank after the taste test may have contributed to it!
At 80 proof and a low $16, this one rates as your average run-of-the-mill vodka. I suggest spending a few bucks more to get a top shelf brand. Cheers!
Sipability - 6.0
Mixability - 7.0
Drunkability - 5.5
Hangover-ability - 7.5
Bang for the Buck - 7.0
Overall - 6.5 
Comments
Fris is actually pronounced close to “freeze” in Danish. It’s just another Absolut wannabe product.
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