Popular brands: Smirnoff, Absolut, Skyy, Stoli
Popular brands: Smirnoff, Absolut, Skyy, Stoli.
Vodka is believed to have originated in Russia or Poland in the 14th century. Its popularity was largely confined to Eastern Europe and the Baltic states until after World War II. The U.S. government did not classify vodka as a separate distilled-spirit category until after World War II. Today vodka accounts for about one of every four bottles of distilled spirits sold in America.
In Eastern Europe, vodka is often consumed chilled and straight. Elsewhere it is primarily a cocktail ingredient, though super-premium vodkas have increased neat and on-the-rocks drinking.
According to the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, vodka is a spirit without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color.
Production
Vodka can be made from many ingredients. Potatoes were traditional in Russia and Poland; today most brands use grains such as wheat, barley, rye, or corn.
A fermented mash is distilled at high proof—around 190 proof versus about 160 for whiskeys—to remove flavor. The spirit is usually charcoal-filtered for at least eight hours. Modern distillation yields about 95% purity; filtering removes remaining impurities. Some vodkas are distilled and/or filtered multiple times. Most are bottled at 80, 90, or 100 proof.
Water matters: natural spring water is preferred because water constitutes 50% or more of the finished vodka.