Vodka

Vodka is a typically colorless liquor, usually distilled from fermented grain or potatoes but also from other raw materials (see "Production" below). It is thought that the term is a diminutive of the Slavic word "voda" (woda, вода) for "water."

Except for various types of flavorings, vodka consists of water and alcohol (ethanol). Vodka usually has an alcohol content ranging from 35% to 70% by volume. The classic Russian vodka is 40% (80 proof). This can be attributed to the Russian standards for vodka production introduced in 1894 by Alexander III from research undertaken by the famous Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. According to the Vodka Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mendeleev found the perfect percentage to be 38, but since spirits in his time were taxed on their strength the percentage was rounded up to 40 to simplify the tax computation. At strengths less than this vodka drunk neat can taste 'watery' and above this strength the taste of vodka can have more 'burn'. Under US Federal law, the minimum alcohol strength of vodka is also 40% by volume, whilst in Europe the minimum is 37.5% by volume.

Although vodka is generally drunk neat (not mixed with other liquids) in its Eastern European and Scandinavian homeland, its growth in popularity elsewhere owes much to its usefulness in cocktails and other mixed drinks, such as the Bloody Mary, the Screwdriver, the Vodka Tonic, and the Vodka Martini.

Etymology

The origins of vodka (and of its name) cannot be traced definitively, but it is believed to have originated in the grain-growing region that now embraces Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, and western Russia. It also has a long tradition in Scandinavia.

The word can be found in the Novgorod chronicle in records dated 1533, where the term "vodka" is used in the context of herbal alcoholic tinctures. A number of pharmaceutical lists contain the terms "vodka of bread wine" (водка хлебного вина) and "vodka in half of bread wine" (водка вполу хлебного вина). As alcohol had long been used as a basis for medicines, this implies that the term vodka is a noun derived from the verb "vodit,'" "razvodit'" ("водить", "разводить"), "to dilute with water." "Bread Wine" was a spirit distilled from alcohol made from grain (as opposed to "Grape Wine") and hence "vodka of bread wine" would be a water dilution of a distilled grain spirit.

While the word could be found in manuscripts and in lubok (лубок, pictures with text explaining the plot, a Russian predecessor of the comic), it began to appear in Russian dictionaries in the mid-19th century.

Interestingly, other peoples in the area of vodka's probable origin have names for vodka with roots meaning "to burn": (Polish: gorzałka; Ukrainian: горілка, horilka; Belarusian: гарэлка, harelka; Lithuanian: degtinė; Latvian: degvīns).

History

Little is known about the early history of the drink. The first written record of vodka in Poland dates from 1405 in the Sandomierz Court Registry. In Russia, the first written usage of the word vodka in an official document in its modern meaning is dated by the decree of Empress Catherine I of June 8, 1751 that regulated the ownership of vodka distilleries.

Vodka is now one of the world's most popular spirits. It was rarely drunk outside Europe before the 1950s, but its popularity spread to the New World by way of post-war France. (Pablo Picasso once defined the most notable features of post-war France as "Brigitte Bardot, modern jazz, Polish vodka.") By 1975 vodka sales in the United States overtook those of bourbon whiskey, previously the most popular hard liquor. In the second half of the 20th century, vodka owed its popularity in part to its reputation as an alcoholic beverage that "leaves you breathless," as one ad put it — no smell of liquor remaining detectable on the breath.

According to The Penguin Book of Spirits and Liqueurs, "Its low level of fusel oils and congenerics — impurities that flavor spirits but that can contribute to the after-effects of heavy consumption — led to its being considered among the 'safer' spirits, though not in terms of its powers of intoxication, which, depending on strength, may be considerable." (Pamela Vandyke Price, [Harmondsworth & New York: Penguin Books, 1980], pp. 196ff.)

Production

Vodka may be distilled from any starch/sugar-rich plant matter; most vodka today is produced from grains such as sorghum, corn, rye or wheat. Among grain vodkas, rye and wheat vodkas are generally considered superior. Some vodka is made from potatoes, molasses, soybeans, grapes and sometimes even byproducts of oil refining or wood pulp processing. In some Central European countries like Poland some vodka is produced by just fermenting a solution of crystal sugar and some salts for the yeast and distilling this after a few weeks. Today vodka is produced throughout the world, see List of vodkas.

Distilling and filtering

A common property of vodkas produced in the USA and Europe is the extensive use of filtration prior to any additional processing, such as the addition of flavorants. Filtering is sometimes done in the still during distillation, as well as afterward, where the distilled vodka is filtered through charcoal and other media. This is because under U.S. and European law vodka must not have any distinctive aroma, character, color or flavor. However, this is not the case in the traditional vodka producing nations, so many distillers from these countries prefer to use very accurate distillation but minimal filtering, thus preserving the unique flavors and characteristics of their products.

The "stillmaster" is the person in charge of distilling the vodka and directing its filtration. When done correctly, much of the "fore-shots" or "heads" and the "tails" separated in distillation process are discarded. These portions of the distillate contain flavor compounds such as ethyl acetate and ethyl lactate (heads) as well as the fusel oils (tails) that alter the clean taste of vodka. Through numerous rounds of distillation, the taste of the vodka is improved and its clarity is enhanced. In some distilled liquors such as rum and baijiu, some of the heads and tails are not removed in order to give the liquor its unique flavor and mouth-feel.

Proper distillation and excluding some of the heads also removes methanol from vodka (and other distilled liquors), which can be poisonous in larger amounts. Methanol is formed when cellulose is fermented. This can be avoided by fermenting sugar with a high quality Turbo Yeast, so little methanol is formed. A fermentation of sugar, water, and Turbo Yeast will typically produce 1 ppm (one millionth) in the mash. This is much less methanol than found in ordinary orange juice, and about one twentieth of that found in commercial whisky and cognac.

Repeated distillation of vodka will make its ethanol level much higher than legally allowed. Depending on the distillation method and the technique of the stillmaster, the final filtered and distilled vodka may have as much as 95-96% ethanol. As such, most vodka is diluted with water prior to bottling.

Flavoring

Apart from the alcoholic content, vodkas may be classified into two main groups: clear vodkas and flavored vodkas. From the latter ones, one can separate bitter tinctures, such as Russian Yubileynaya (jubilee vodka) and Pertsovka (pepper vodka).

While most vodkas are unflavored, a wide variety of flavored vodkas has long been produced in traditional vodka-drinking areas, often as homemade recipes to improve vodka's taste, or for medicinal purposes. Flavorings include red pepper, ginger, various fruit flavors, vanilla, chocolate (without sweetener), and cinnamon. Ukrainians produce a commercial vodka that includes St John's Wort. Poles and Belarusians add the leaves of the local bison grass to produce Żubrówka (Polish) and Zubrovka (Belarussian) vodka, with slightly sweet flavor and light amber color. In Ukraine and Russia, vodka flavored with honey and pepper (Pertsovka, in Russian, Z pertsem, in Ukrainian) is also very popular. In Poland, a famous vodka containing honey is called krupnik.

This tradition of flavoring is also prevalent in the Nordic countries, where vodka seasoned with various herbs, fruits and spices is the appropriate strong drink for all traditional seasonal festivities, midsummer in particular. In Sweden alone there are some forty-odd common varieties of herb-flavored vodka (kryddat brännvin). In Poland there is a separate category, nalewka, for vodka-based spirits with fruit, root, flower, or herb extracts, which are often homemade or produced commercially by small distilleries. Its alcohol content may vary from 15 to 75%.

The Poles also make a very pure (95%, 190 proof) rectified spirit (Polish language: spirytus rektyfikowany), which is used in a variety of ways. Technically a form of vodka, it is sold in liquor stores, not pharmacies. Similarly, the German market often carries German-/Hungarian-/Polish-/Ukrainian- made varieties of vodka of 90 to 95% alcohol content (as well as Stroh rum (a spiced rum) of the same potency).

Other processing

Due to the high alcohol content of certain brands of vodka, it can be stored in ice or a freezer without any crystallization of water. In countries where alcohol levels are generally low (the USA for example, due to alcohol taxation levels varying directly with alcohol content), individuals sometimes increase the alcohol percentage by a form of freeze distillation. This is done by placing the vodka in an open vessel (bowl, etc) in the freezer, and then after it has reached a temperature below the freezing point of water, adding one or more ice cubes, to which the free water within the vodka will crystallize, leaving a higher alcohol concentration behind.

In some countries, black market or "bathtub" vodka is widespread, as it can be produced easily to avoid taxation. However, severe poisoning, blindness, or death have been said to happen as a result of impurities, notably methanol. This pervasive poisoning belief is due to moonshine lore, which abounds with myths of blindness, but few actual documented cases. The concern is due to the presence of methanol (wood alcohol), an optic nerve poison, which can be present in small amounts when fermenting grains or fruits high in pectin.

Vodka and the EU

Vodka producers in Finland, Poland and Sweden are campaigning for EU legislation that will categorize only spirits made from grain and potatoes as "Vodka" instead of any spirit made from any ethyl alcohol (provided, for example, from apples and grapes). This proposition has provoked heavy criticism from south European countries, which often distill used mash from wine-making into vodka. Any drink then not made from either grain or potatoes would then have to be labeled as "Spirit Drinks" instead.

"Spirit Drinks"

The brands that would be affected if the law is passed include:

Gallery of vodka brands

Stolichnaya ("Capital"), Russia

Stolichnaya ("Capital"), Russia
Solidarność ("Solidarity"), Poland

Solidarność ("Solidarity"), Poland
Zodiac, United States

Zodiac, United States
Absolut, Sweden
Monopolowa, Poland
Hollandse Graanjenever vodka, Netherlands
Żubrówka, Poland
Finlandia, Finland

Finlandia, Finland
Wodka Gorbatschow, Germany

Wodka Gorbatschow, Germany

References

Begg, Desmond. The Vodka Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide. Running: 1998. ISBN 0762402520.
Pokhlebkin, William and Clarke, Renfrey (translator). A History of Vodka. Verso: 1992. ISBN 0860913597.
Delos, Gilbert. Vodkas of the World. Wellfleet: 1998. ISBN 0785810188.
Lingwood, William, and Ian Wisniewski. Vodka: Discovering, Exploring, Enjoying. Ryland, Peters, & Small: 2003. ISBN 1841725064.
Price, Pamela Vandyke. The Penguin Book of Spirits and Liqueurs. Penguin Books, 1980. [Chapter 8 is devoted to vodka.]

External links