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popped up all around the country

a brewery out in the middle of nowhere, Broken Bow, Nebraska, started a distillery in Lincoln using Nebraska corn.

Produce a smooth slightly sweet vodka and a white whiskey.

I really like their Jalapeno vodka for bloody Marys 

I was shocked I could tell the differences in vodkas.  I didn't know which was which, but I could tell Belvedere was different from GG.  I think they had Smirnoff in there and I could tell it wasn't as good, a slight off flavor.

I suppose it comes down to quality of distillation, how they take cuts and how often they distill.  It would be interesting to try a barrel aged vodka, I bet you could get close to bourbon/whisk(e)y.

The Kirkland Tennessee bourbon is only "OK", not as good as Woodford IMHO.

Could I assert that every distilled beverage is simply flavored vodka? 

They start out that way, but then the remainder of the process determines what it can be called.  Whiskeys aren't vodka, because of the aging in wooden barrels.  Even a white whiskey technically has to touch a wooden barrel, although they don't spend any time in there, so it's basically a vodka.

I might argue the reverse in fact, that a barrel-aged grain-based-vodka is actually not a vodka at all, rather it's a whiskey. 

Of course there are some particulars about proofing.  Vodka must be distilled to at least 95%, while whiskey must be distilled to less than 95%, before both are cut to their final proof, which for both I believe, can be no less than 40%.

Tequilas blancas could be considered vodka I suppose, but aged tequilas like reposado or anejo would not be.

Why hasn’t it been blistering hot this summer in metro Atlanta? – WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta (wsbtv.com)

We have yet to hit 90°F, so far, this summer.  

sideshow spirits in Lincoln makes a white whiskey and a brown vodka aged in new charred barrels

they also have a apple brandy from fresh pressed cider

since my daughter works there and get's an employee discount, I have a bottle of each of everything they distill.

They are all very good

I am thinking of aging as a variation of flavoring, ergo, it's all vodka, brown liquors are merely aged vodkas.  I know the mash bill differs a lot, but does it matter really?

You distill to pretty high proof, 140 to 190 depending, and then dilute and add "flavorings", like barrel aging.

i ain't no expert, but I do run a still from time to time... 

it's ALL ethanol... no matter how it started, the ethanol is what is extracted.  

extracting it pure is impossible- but i've made some brandy that was nearing 160proof before.  

the 'trick' is the tailings- the last to come off and when the temperature starts to rise above 190* and under 210* or so... the 'high spirits' (ergo the acetone, methanol, and a host of others) will start to disperse around 147* or so- you DON'T want those.. the good stuff (ethanol) starts around 174*... making the cut is tricky... luckily the anecdote for high spirits poisoning is ethanol.... so.... you want as much of that as yo can get even if it means you are mixing more 'tailings' than you should.  The tailings is where the flavor is- it's what makes rum taste like rum, whiskey-whiskey, scotch scotch, brandy brandy.... it's where the distinction comes in.  tailings by themselves are horrid- but cut just right with tailings and then some good water (to bring the proof down to where you need/want it) and they set the stage for the artistry of distilling to make an appearance.  

most commercial vodka is nothing but a sugar wash, nowadays.  just sugar, water, and a bit of yeast to kick things off... 

by the way- it's ALL about yeast for the flavor... some distillers (especially old world distillers) have yeasts (replicated naturally) well over 200 years old... they keep it alive and working as they've found the perfect balance.  I've used distillers yeast (red dot) which promises high yield- and it does- but the flavor is horrible of anything produced with a sharp acidic flavor... bread yeast takes longer but is more neutral... the best is natural yeasts like the old timers discovered in hollers deep in the woods of Appalachia- that thrive there due to canopy of hardwood forests disallowing much sunlight and moisture just shy of moist if that makes any sense... those natural yeasts were as important to kentucky bourbons and tennessee whiskeys as the water they drew from mountain streams... it's just less celebrated.  the act of 'sour mash' is re-using the mash for subsequent runs... the flavor is enhanced, true, but the yeasts are also different in the sour mash than they would have been in the newly brewed mash.  

i'd like to get ahold of @betarhoalphadelta 's brews.... it's in essence the same thing... ferment up some recipe and instead of reaching the point the yeast dies and then adding a jolt of sugar to capture the bubblies, you let it flatten completely.... THAT, is what us'n hillbilly's call a 'wash'. 

distilled from Nebraska corn

everyone has their own ways of naming or labeling things for many reasons

I assume marketing in this case