Know more about Vodka

Vodka is the first hard alcohol consumed in the world, but where does it come from? 

Two countries are fighting about the origin of this drink: Russia and Poland. For the Russian the vodka was born in 1450 at the Tschoudovo monastery. The Ivan III tsar established the state monopole of the production and sell of vodka in 1474 and people could drink vodka only few days per years otherwise they were going to jail. Nicolas Ier has abolished the state monopole in 1828, and it’s at this time that the brand Smirnoff was born. For Polish history is different. Vodka made its emergence in the 16th century in monasteries of Dantzig region under Ivan IV tsar and made introduce in Russia by monks… In fact, nowadays Vodka is the first hard alcohol drunk in the world and became the national drink of a lot of countries: Poland, Russia, Finland… 

 What does “Vodka” means? 

The word “vodka” can be literally translated as "little water". In Slavic languages, the word for water is “voda” (Russian “вода”, Polish “woda”), and the “ka” is a diminutive value. 

 What makes the quality of vodka? 

Can be identified three fundamental elements in the composition of vodka: 

 1. The raw materials used. 

If the Polish government today wants strictly supervise over the name "vodka" it’s to make it a part of its nobility. We find the basis of its composition a wide variety of raw materials. Cereals (wheat or rye) are supposed to be used for the traditional composition of vodka. This is also from one of these two cereals that the best vodkas in the world are made. But there are also excellent vodkas made from other raw materials such as potatoes, fruits, or beet. This raw material is used to compose the wort. 

 2. Purity of water used. 

Vodka with current standards degree of alcohol, ie between 38 and 42 degrees, is composing of 60% water. The water used is therefore of great importance in the composition of the vodka. The provenance Vodka is therefore important, because water used affects the quality of vodka: the use of a water source of high purity is a sign of refinement of vodka in arises. Thus, vodkas high purity sometimes refers to "spring water" on the label of the bottle. Cold regions such as Scandinavia and the Slavic countries of origins of vodka areas naturally full of many sources of high purity, hence the quality of some vodkas produced in these territories. 

3. Number of successive distillations. 

The brands of vodka regularly mention the number of successive distillations made during the composition of their vodka. As well, we see regularly "N distillations" written on the bottle. In fact, 6 times distilled vodka is not necessarily better than vodka distilled only 3 times. The successive distillations have the effect of increasing the degree of alcohol (then added water to bring the alcohol level standards) and the bitterness left by wort is reduced in order to be sweet in mouth. Distillation contributes to make the purest vodka, but not only guarantee the refinement of vodka. 

 In summary, to judge the quality of vodka (before having tasted), you need to ask yourself these three questions: What is the agricultural raw material used? What is the source of water used? What is the number of successive distillations?