San Francisco, CA
The Vodka Of The Year According To The San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Refreshing Lemon Drop Martini with a Garnish
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The San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) has released the inaugural list of its 2024 Vodkas of the Year. Chopin Potato Vodka was chosen the Vodka of the Year. Below is a brief description and tasting notes of the SFWSC’s ten Vodkas of the Year.
These vodkas were Double Gold medalists at the SFWSC and received Gold Medals in at least four other major international spirit competitions. They are among the world’s best, offering diverse aroma and flavor profiles and range from established legacy brands to new offerings from craft producers. All of them are widely available and reasonably priced.
Global Vodka Trends
The global vodka market remained relatively stable in 2024 compared to 2023. According to Euromonitor International, vodka sales were expected to be 338.4 million cases by the end of 2024, a slight decrease from 338.44 million cases in 2023.
Despite this marginal decline in volume, the value of vodka sales experienced growth, increasing from $78.2 billion in 2023 to $79.4 billion in 2024. Sales in 2025 are projected to rise to $82.6 billion by 2025.
Economy and premium brands showed the most significant revenue increases as a combination of economic headwinds drove consumers to low-priced options while continued premiumization drove other consumers towards higher-priced expressions. The demand for premium vodka expressions seemed particularly prevalent among millennials and Gen Z consumers.
Flavored vodkas continued to outperform neutral expressions and are expected to surpass them in volume by 2025 or 2026. Flavored vodka volumes are growing around 6.5% while volume of neutral (unflavored) vodka expressions posted slight declines in 2024.
Botanical vodkas, those flavored with botanicals rather than artificial flavorings, are the fastest growing segment of the vodka market, albeit from a relatively small base. The emergence of botanical vodkas is creating a gin-like vodka category which differs from gin only in the prominence of juniper flavors and is often difficult to distinguish from “contemporary gins” that eschew a prominent juniper flavor.
Overall, while global vodka sales volume remained relatively steady with only a slight decline in 2024, the value of sales increased, indicating the trend towards premiumization in the vodka market is continuing.
Two vodka in shot glasses space
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SFWSC Vodka of the Year
These vodkas have been recognized with some of the most significant awards in the industry, including the Double Gold Medal from the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition. These accolades are a testament to their exceptional quality and craftsmanship.
Grey Goose Vodka, Grey Goose Distillery, France
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles: Gold, Beverage Testing Institute: Gold, New York International Spirits Competition: Gold
Silky and smooth, Grey Goose features flavors of citrus zest and almond and a creamy mouthfeel, this vodka has a clean and elegant finish, making it a benchmark for luxury vodkas.
Belvedere Vodka, Polmos Żyrardów, Poland
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles: Gold
Belvedere is rich and full-bodied, with notes of vanilla and rye spice and a creamy, velvety texture. The finish is long, smooth, and subtly peppery.
Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Fifth Generation Inc., USA
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold, World Spirits Awards: Gold, New York International Spirits Competition: Gold
Corn sweetness with a creamy texture, subtle notes of bread, and a clean, slightly sweet finish. Tito’s Vodka is versatile for cocktails or sipping neat and pairs well with [specific food or mixers].
Vodka cocktails garnished with lemon, blueberries, and rosemary
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Absolut Elyx, The Absolut Company, Sweden
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles: Gold
Absolut Elyx is luxuriously smooth and silky with fresh grain flavors, subtle vanilla, and hints of fruit. The finish is crisp, elegant, and refined.
Cîroc Vodka, Distillerie de Chevanceaux, France
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold
Bright and crisp, with light grape, citrus, and tropical fruit flavors, the finish is clean, refreshing, and slightly sweet.
Stolichnaya Elit, Latvijas Balzams, Latvia
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold
Stolichnaya is ultra-smooth with a creamy mouthfeel and flavors of marshmallow, citrus zest, and a subtle peppery finish.
Caviar on a cracker with a glass of vodka makes a classic pairing.
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Reyka Vodka, William Grant & Sons, Iceland
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold
Clean and crisp with a soft minerality, notes of vanilla, and a hint of citrus. The finish is smooth and refreshing, with a slightly earthy undertone.
Chopin Potato Vodka, Polmos Siedlce, Poland
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, Beverage Testing Institute: Gold
Chosen as the Vodka of the Year, Chopin Potato Vodka offers a complex and nuanced aroma and taste profile.
It is full-bodied and creamy with earthy undertones, hints of vanilla, and a touch of sweetness. The finish is rich and smooth.
Crystal Head Vodka, Globefill Inc., Canada
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, New York International Spirits Competition: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold
Bright and clean with subtle notes of vanilla, peach, and soft grains. The finish is crisp and refreshing.
Black Cow Vodka, Black Cow Distillery, England
San Francisco World Spirits Competition: Double Gold, IWSC: Gold, World Vodka Awards: Gold, International Spirits Challenge: Gold, New York International Spirits Competition: Gold
It is smooth and creamy, with hints of vanilla, coconut, and soft sweetness from its milk-based distillation process. The finish is clean and slightly sweet.
These vodkas represent some of the finest in the world, having won the coveted Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and multiple other gold medals from prestigious international competitions. Each of these vodkas demonstrates exceptional quality and craftsmanship, presenting a broad range of aroma and flavor profiles. Each is an outstanding vodka and worth trying!
A fire at a Pacific Gas & Electric substation in SoMa knocked out power to as many as 130,000 customers starting Saturday, leaving thousands in the dark heading into the holiday season and a week of intense storms. Here’s what we know about the outage and state of restoration.
What happened?
The fire began shortly before 1:10 p.m. Saturday at PG&E’s Mission substation at Eighth and Mission streets, initially affecting 40,000 customers. As firefighters worked to suppress the blaze, crews de-energized additional portions of the electric system for safety, causing outages to peak at approximately 130,000 customers.
The fire damaged critical equipment, including a circuit breaker — a safety switch designed to de-energize the system when problems are detected. Firefighters faced unusual complexities suppressing the fire in the multilevel building, including ventilating carbon monoxide before crews could safely enter.
When did power come back?
Firefighters made the building safe for PG&E crews to enter by 6:15 p.m. Saturday. Restoration efforts began immediately. Nearly 32,000 customers were reconnected by 8:45 p.m. Saturday, and about 100,000 — roughly 75% of those affected — were up by 9:30 p.m.
By noon Sunday, 90% of affected customers had power restored. PG&E initially projected full restoration by 2 p.m. Monday; however, a spokesperson said the utility was extending restoration times (opens in new tab) for the remaining 4,400 customers without power. No time frame has been announced.
What sparked the fire?
PG&E says it doesn’t know. COO Sumeet Singh said Monday that the extensive equipment damage makes it difficult to determine a root cause. The utility has hired Exponent, a Bay Area-based engineering firm, to conduct an independent investigation.
“We will determine what occurred to ensure it never happens again,” Singh said at a press conference outside the damaged substation.
Was the equipment properly maintained?
PG&E completed preventative maintenance at the Mission substation in October and conducted its most recent bimonthly inspection Dec. 5. Singh said neither inspection identified any problems.
Why were the estimated restoration times wrong?
Many customers were irate as they were repeatedly given estimated restoration times that came and went. Singh acknowledged the failure and said PG&E’s estimation systems typically perform well, with more than 91% accuracy systemwide.
“It obviously did not work effectively in the circumstance over this weekend,” Singh said. “We are committed to understanding exactly what happened, why it happened, and owning the fixes.”
Were other substations damaged?
Residents have observed a large presence of workers at a substation at 24th Avenue and Balboa Street since Sunday, but the utility has not shared details on what is being done there.
Six hulking diesel generators, which one worker said cost $600,000 to operate daily, were parked outside the substation Monday afternoon. The generators are needed to feed power to the grid while both substations are not fully operational. Crews said they are expected to run for at least two to three days.
Two workers said the substation is undamaged and still online, but its output is diminished because it is fed power by the much larger substation at Eighth and Mission.
However, another said one of the substation’s transformers blew out after a power surge following the fire, and the generators are needed to compensate while workers “update the system” of the west-side substation.
How will customers be compensated?
PG&E plans to offer an expedited claims process for affected customers to seek compensation for losses, including spoiled food, lost business revenue, and hotel costs. Singh said details will be available soon on the utility’s website and through customer service.
He declined to specify compensation limits or provide immediate financial relief, saying customers would need to file claims that PG&E would process quickly. The utility opened a community resource center in the Richmond and partnered with 211 to provide hotel accommodations and food vouchers for vulnerable customers.
Could this happen again?
Singh said PG&E has identified no vulnerabilities at other substations and has made significant upgrades systemwide. Two strong storms forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday (opens in new tab) could bring 4 to 10 inches of rain to Northern California; he said more than 5,500 PG&E workers and contractors are positioned to respond.
The outage occurred 22 years to the day (opens in new tab) after a mass blackout at the same substation in 2003, raising questions about aging infrastructure that Singh did not directly address.
Good morning. Extremely lean and mean (well, merry, really) for the rest of this week as we head into our annual winter break.
We’ll hang things up for the year on Dec. 24 and pick things back up on Jan. 5.
Happy holidays. (Yippee-Ki-Yay.) —AN
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What happened when Waymo robotaxis met a San Francisco blackout
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images
An extraordinary experiment happened over the weekend in San Francisco.
What would a fleet of autonomous vehicles do when a widespread power outage knocked out traffic lights across one-third of the city?
We quickly found out—and the results were plastered all over social media.
On Saturday afternoon, Waymo vehicles throughout SF opted to stop where they were or pull over and throw on their hazard lights—“blocking intersections” and “compounding gridlock,” observed the San Francisco Standard—leading the Alphabet-owned robotaxi operator to suspend service throughout the city. (It resumed Sunday evening.)
In a statement, Waymo said that its vehicles are “designed to treat non-functional signals as four-way stops” but “the sheer scale of the outage led to instances where vehicles remained stationary longer than usual.”
As locals worked through the outage, a moderate debate about the robotaxi fleet continued online. Was it so wrong to expect Waymo’s vehicles to play it safe when infrastructure stopped working? After all, aren’t human drivers predictably chaotic when things go sideways? What exactly should robotaxis optimize for: traffic flow or citizen safety?
And: Just how safe is stopping if you prompt traffic to go around you?
Waymo resumed service Sunday evening, no doubt grappling with these questions (and what city officials might have to say about them). “We are already learning and improving from this event,” it said. —AN
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SAN FRANCISCO – About 21,000 homes and businesses in San Francisco were still without power Sunday morning, a day after a massive outage darkened much of the city during one of the busiest shopping weekends before Christmas, according to PG&E.
What we know:
The utility said the outage began shortly after noon Saturday in the western part of the city before spreading to several neighborhoods, including most of downtown.
At one point, PG&E estimated that roughly one-third of all San Francisco customers were without electricity.
Investigators are now working to determine whether the outage is connected to a fire Saturday at a PG&E substation near Eighth and Mission streets.
What they’re saying:
“We do not know exactly which happened first, meaning if the fire caused the outage or not,” said San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Mariano Elias. “It’s too early to tell at this time, but in order for us to work there in a safe operation, we need the power off.”
The outage created widespread transportation disruptions throughout the city. With traffic signals dark at major intersections, drivers faced significant congestion in multiple neighborhoods. BART also temporarily closed its Powell Street and Civic Center stations due to the power failure.
The blackout also affected autonomous vehicle service in San Francisco. Waymo temporarily suspended its robotaxi operations, citing safety concerns. Video recorded during the outage showed several of the company’s vehicles stalled in intersections, at times blocking traffic and nearly causing collisions.
In a statement, Waymo said it was “focused on keeping our riders safe and ensuring emergency personnel have the clear access they need to do their work,” adding that it plans to resume service in San Francisco “soon” but did not give a specific time.
The Source: Original reporting by Allie Rasmus of KTVU
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