Ukrainian Vodka

My friends always ask me what is the best Ukrainian vodka?  I am not an expert. But these two that you can see on the following picture are pretty good.
On the left-hand side of the picture,  you can see Zoloto Polubotka (Polubotka's Gold) vodka. It's made in Lviv. It's pretty pricey because it contains golden flakes in the bottle. Basically, it looks like the Goldschlager schnapps liqueur. But it's still vodka.
On the right-hand side of the picture, you can see Nemiroff Medova z Pertzem (Honey-based with Pepper). Nemiroff is a world-known brand of vodka so it's pretty easy to find it here in European/Russian deli stores. The honey-based Nemirroff with red hot chili peppers has a yellow color because the vodka is infused with honey. It also has a sweet and spicy taste because of both honey and red hot chili peppers. Nemiroff vodka is made in a small town of Nemiroff in Vinitsa province.
Both brands of vodka are from the Western Ukraine. I don't have an explanation for this spatial pattern. And on the final note I have to say that both companies avoid classifying their brands as vodka. The Polubotka's Gold is actually horilka (Ukrainian word for vodka). The Nemiroff considers its vodka a liqueur. As I recall, Poland as the EU members filed a request to patent the vodka brand as a hard liqueur made from potatoes. Since both Ukrainian companies don't use potatoes to make their vodka, these companies can't use the term vodka.


Happy Thanksgiving!