Something has changed for the worse in recent years, both in taste and in what it leaves you with. You get a bit of a feeling as if you've drunk "bad liquor." Still, it's a thousand times better than cheap vodkas, like the simple Serkova for example.

I have been drinking it since the 90s and I don't change it. Vodka is not a science. It should be odorless, tasteless, and neutral. Any "hint" of flavor, sweet sensation, etc. is the addition of other substances. Everything else is a matter of marketing.