Żubrówka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Type | Flavoured Vodka |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Polmos Białystok |
| Country of origin | Białystok, Poland |
| Introduced | 16th century |
| Proof | 80 |
| Variants | U.S.-export versions without coumarin |
| Related products | List of vodkas |
Żubrówka 
pronounced: /ʐub'rufka/ (help·info), also known in English as Buffalo Grass Vodka or Bison Grass Vodka, is a brand of dry, herb-flavoured vodka that is distilled from rye and bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof). Its flavour is unique and is described as having woodruff, vanilla, coconut, and almond notes.
The rye distillate is flavoured with a tincture of buffalo grass (Hierochloe odorata). This grass grows in the Białowieża Forest, which is partly in Poland and partly in Belarus, and elsewhere. A blade of buffalo grass is placed in each bottle of Żubrówka but it is only decorative and not the cause of the beverage’s taste and yellowish colour.
The name Żubrówka comes from żubr, the Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian word for the wisent (European bison), an animal that is particularly fond of eating buffalo grass.
Contents |
[edit] History
Żubrówka has been manufactured in the region of the contemporary Polish-Belarusian (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) border since the 16th century, and by 18th century was one of the favourite raw drinks of the nobility (szlachta) and the peasantry alike. In 1926 the Polish Polmos company in Brest Litovsk (now Belalco, Brest, Belarus) invented a method to mass produce Żubrówka, which was then copied by numerous companies worldwide, under a variety of brand names. The original distillery company in Brest (Belaco) still produces Brestskaya Zubrovka (Зуброўка), as do Russia (Зубровка), Lithuania (Stumbrinė), United States (Bison Vodka), Ukraine (Зубрiвка), Germany (Grasovka), the Czech Republic (Zubrovka), and many other countries. Currently the brand Żubrówka, its translations into other languages, and the grass inside a bottle of alcoholic beverage are registered by the Polmos Białystok company in Białystok, Poland.
[edit] Culture
Żubrówka figures prominently in the movie Suzhou River.
Zubrowka is featured in W. Somerset Maugham’s novel The Razor’s Edge.
[edit] Żubrówka in the United States
Because bison grass contains the toxic compound coumarin, which is prohibited as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration, importing of Żubrówka into the United States was banned in 1978 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
When produced according to traditional methods (between one and two kilograms of grass per thousand litres of alcohol), Żubrówka contains approximately 12 milligrams of coumarin per litre. In 1999, Polish distilleries introduced reformulated U.S.-export versions of the product, sometimes using artificial flavours and colours, always with the emblematic blade of grass in every bottle, but "neutralised" and coumarin-free.
The trademark owner and owner of Polmos Bialystok - Central European Distribution Corporation (Nasdaq:CEDC), Poland's largest liquor distributor[1] introduced the brand to the United States in 2007.
[edit] Serving suggestions
Żubrówka is usually served chilled and mixed with apple juice[2] (a drink known in Polish as tatanka or szarlotka; known in the UK as a Frisky Bison[3]; and in the US as a Polish Kiss). It is sometimes served over vanilla ice cream.
Żubrówka mixed with black currant juice makes a cocktail known as a “Black Bison”.
[edit] References
- ^ Investor's Business Daily ([dead link] – Scholar search), Central European Expands Along With Polish Economy, http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/070806/general01.html?.v=1, retrieved 2007-09-29
- ^ Gim, Sarah, Zubrowka is bison grass vodka, http://www.slashfood.com/2006/07/18/zubrowka-is-bison-grass-vodka/, retrieved 2007-09-29
- ^ JD Wetherspoon's Cocktail and Long Drink list
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Żubrówka |
- Belalco — The official site of the Brest Distillery Company
- Grasovka — The official site of Grasovka
- Polmos Białystok — The official site of Polmos Białystok
- Zubrowka.net — The official site for Bison Grass Vodka
- Zubrowka: Polish Vodka and Cultural Geographic Indicators
- Zubrowka Vodka in Germany
