ALL ABOUT VODKA
The name "vodka" is a diminutive form of the Slavic word “voda” (water), interpreted as "dear little water", + -к- (suffix) + -a- (postfix of feminine gender).
An affectionate diminutive for this clean, tasteless spirit that blends with virtually any beverage.
PRODUCTION
It is made by fermenting and then distilling the simple sugars from a mash of pale grain or vegetal matter. Vodka is produced from grain, potatoes, molasses, beets, and a variety of other plants.
Most of the best Russian Vodkas are made from wheat while in Poland they are mostly made from a rye mash.
ALCOHOLIC CONTENT
Traditionally prepared vodkas had an alcoholic content of 38% by volume. Today, the standard Belarusian, Polish, Russian and Lithuanian vodkas are 40% ABV (80 proof). The European Union has established a minimum of 37.5% alcohol by volume content for any European vodka to be named as such. Products sold as vodka in the United States must have an alcoholic content of 40% or more.
WAYS TO DRINK
Vodka is traditionally drunk neat in the vodka belt countries of Eastern Europe and around the Baltic Sea.
It is also commonly used in cocktails and mixed drinks, such as the Bloody Mary, screwdriver, Sex on the Beach, White Russian, Black Russian, vodka tonic, and in a vodka martini.
TYPES OF VODKA
Apart from the alcoholic content, vodkas may be classified into two main groups: clear vodkas and flavored vodkas (Bitter tinctures, such as Russian Yubileynaya “anniversary vodka” and Pertsovka “pepper vodka”).
Kubanskaya - Vodka flavored with an infusion of dried lemon and orange peels.
Limonnaya - Lemon-flavored Vodka, usually with a touch of sugar added.
Okhotnichya -"Hunters" Vodka is flavored with a mix of ginger, cloves, lemon peel, coffee, anise and other herbs and spices. It is then blended with sugar and a touch of a wine similar to white port.
Pertsovka -Pepper-flavored Vodka, made with black peppercorns and red chili peppers.
Starka - "Old" Vodka, infused with everything from fruit tree leaves to brandy, Port, Malaga wine, and dried fruit. Some brands are aged in oak casks.
Zubrovka - Zubrowka in Polish; Vodka flavored with buffalo (or more properly "bison") rare grass.
RATING OF VODKA
There are no uniform classifications of Vodka. In Poland, Vodkas are graded according to their degree of purity: standard (zwykly), premium (wyborowy) and deluxe (luksusowy). In Russia Vodka that is labeled osobaya (special) usually is a superior-quality product that can be exported, while krepkaya (strong) denotes an over proof Vodka of at least 56% ABV.
HISTORY
The origins of Vodka are shrouded in mystery. Many nations claim to be the birthplace of the popular spirit. The two leading candidates as the mother country of vodka are Poland and Russia.
Believed to have originated from either Poland or Russia, the birth date of Vodka has been estimated around the beginning of the twelfth century. Made for medical purposes, this crude anesthetic and disinfectant was distilled from rye while the popular beverage was called gorzałka (from the Old Polish gorzeć meaning to burn)
Russia
Fermented drink was not enough to satisfy the Eastern Europeans for long. They discovered that the extremes of temperature in that part of the world enabled them to produce a beverage with a higher alcoholic strength.
In the 1540s the Russian tsar Ivan 'the Terrible' established his own network of distilling taverns and ensured that the profits went straight into the imperial treasury. He outlawed taverns that were outside his control and put a ban on distilling by potential rivals.
Poland
In 1546, King Jan Olbrecht issued a decree allowing every citizen the right to make Vodka. As a result many families distilled their own spirit, and as early as the sixteenth century there were forty-nine commercial distilleries in the town of Pozan alone.
VODKA REGIONS
Holland is home to Ketel One, one of the most popular brands in the super premium vodka category. Founded in Schiedam in 1961 by Joannes Nolet, the Nolet distillery has been producing the highest quality spirits across 11 generations. After being distilled in small copper pot stills, a member of the Nolet family personally approves every final production run to ensure the crisp and sophisticated flavor of Ketel One vodka.
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus produce the full range of Vodka types
Sweden has, in recent decades, developed a substantial export market for its straight and flavored wheat-based Vodkas.
Western Europe has local brands of Vodka wherever there are distilleries.
Eastern Europe is the homeland of Vodka production.
Poland produces and exports both grain- and potato-based Vodkas.
Finland, along with the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, produce primarily grain-based Vodkas, mostly from wheat.
The United States and Canada produce non flavored Vodkas, both from various grains (including corn) and from molasses. American Vodkas are, by law, neutral spirits, so the distinction between brands is more a matter of price than taste.
The Caribbean produces a surprising amount of Vodka, all of it from molasses. Australia produces molasses-based Vodkas, but few are exported.
Asia has a smattering of local Vodkas, with the best coming from Japan.
|
