I'm normally not that into vodka, besides the occasional martini, but these bottles were impossible to pass up. The Medea was being sold at Costco with a ridiculous flashing LED label (see the "Hi" in the picture? You can program that to say whatever you want). The idea of a light up vodka bottle seemed so gimmicky that I had to try it. I mean, c'mon... if it's terrible, the world needs to know!
Blue Ice was on the clearance shelf in the back of a Ralph's/Kroger's for seven bucks (always worth checking the clearance shelf!), so I grabbed it because why not?
Blue Ice is a potato vodka made from Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes, running about $20/bottle. It has won numerous awards, beating out many premium priced vodkas along the way, but its real claim to fame is that it is the first spirit certified "gluten free" by the U.S. government. Hopefully this gives you a moment of pause: "Aren't all spirits gluten free?" The answer is "Yes!" By virtue of the distillation process, even grain based liquors are gluten free, and this is nothing more than Blue Ice trying to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors.
Medea is a grain-based vodka from the Netherlands that runs about $30/bottle. Despite the slightly tacky flashing label, this is actually a decent bottle of vodka that has won several awards. It too is gluten free, although you won't find that on the label.
Medea:
Nose: clean and light.
Taste: Mild, sweet vanilla.
Blue Ice:
Nose: warmer and rougher.
Taste: Light alcohol.
Recommendation: Both are good clean vodkas worth checking out.