Vodka

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Vodka is a clear form of spirit alcohol traditionally made and drunk throughout Eastern Europe.

It has no colour, and is not aged.

Vodka can be made from a mash of beets, grain, or potatoes. In Russia and Poland the best vodka is considered to be made from rye; in Sweden and the Baltic States, wheat is preferred. Potato-based Vodka is liked in Poland, but not in Russia. In North America, corn may be the base grain. Molasses might even be used for cheaper vodkas.

When Vodka is distilled in a pot still, some nuances of what it was made from will come through. Pot stills, though, are not all that efficient at concentrating alcohol, so the alcohol is usually redistilled to increase the proof.

Mass-produced vodkas are usually made in more efficient stills that only require one distillation, particularly in America where any taste nuances in Vodka are forbidden by law. By American law, American Vodka has to be neutral in taste: "(Vodka is...) neutral spirits, so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color" (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, T.D. 5707, 1949-2 C.B. 252. 1949)

Many North American producers start from Grain Spirits, around 96% alcohol, and then water it down, and do various filtration steps (before or after the water is added) to get the neutrality of taste they want. Because Grain Spirits basically have no taste, the water used becomes the most important flavour element.

In North America, Vodka has become popular because it has no taste. This allows people to drink it with whatever they like (soda pop, juice) without having to learn to like the taste of a particular alcohol. Some wags point out that it also means that North American taste buds never have to grow up.

European brands can be flavoured with herbs, fruits, or spices.

Grading systems differ by country. Poland grades Vodka by purity: standard (zwykly), premium (wyborowy) and deluxe (luksusowy.)


History
Vodka was first available in America in the late 1930s, after the repeal of Prohibition. It was made by a company that had purchased the right to use the name "Smirnoff." Sales of it didn't take off, and within a few years the company was bought by the Heublein Corporation, along with the rights to the name. Sales were slow until the 1950s, when they began advertising that suggested replacing gin in Martinis with vodka, and how to use vodka in cocktails. By 1976, it had become the best-selling spirit in America.

Acknowlegements


Stakhov, Dmitrii (Newlin, Thomas, translator). The Prose and Cons of Vodka. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 25-28. University Of California Press. 2005.

Also called:
Vodka (Spanish)

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