Vodka

Where it started

Who distilled it first is a long-running argument, and Poland's GI file makes a detailed case: it says the word wódka comes from woda, water, and was first recorded in 1405 in a court document; it cites vodka stills in Gdańsk in 1454 and 49 distilleries around Poznań in the 1580s.⁶ Gdańsk was a major vodka export center in the 17th and 18th centuries, shipping to England, Russia, the Netherlands and beyond.⁶ Sweden's file credits continuous distillation, developed in the 1800s, as crucial to the purity of Swedish vodka.⁷ Poland marks Polish Vodka Day on January 13, the date the amended GI definition took effect in 2013.¹⁰

Where and how it's made

U.S. law files vodka under neutral spirits: distilled from any suitable material at or above 95 percent alcohol (190 proof) and bottled at not less than 80 proof.¹ Vodka may be treated with up to 2 grams per liter of sugar and 1 gram per liter of citric acid, and may not be aged or stored in wood, except paraffin-lined barrels for bottled-in-bond.¹³ Vodka filtered through at least one ounce of activated charcoal per 100 wine gallons may say "charcoal filtered."¹

Until 2020, U.S. vodka also had to be "without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color." T.D. TTB-158, effective May 4, 2020, dropped that phrase, agreeing it "no longer reflects consumer expectations."⁴ TTB received twelve comments on the vodka standard, and ten asked for the phrase to go; one distiller argued it no longer fit "the variety in base ingredients, flavors, and flavor profiles" in the category.⁴ Vodka is now distinguished by its production rules: it cannot be labeled as aged, and a neutral spirit that is aged becomes "grain spirits."⁴

The EU sets a 37.5 percent minimum, forbids coloring, caps sweetening at 8 grams per liter, and limits methanol to 10 grams per hectoliter of pure alcohol.⁵ Vodka not made only from potatoes or cereals must say "produced from …" next to the name.⁵

Country GIs tighten things further. Polska Wódka allows nothing but water as an additive and caps strength at 55 percent.⁶ Svensk Vodka ranges from 40 to 60 percent with at most 2 grams of sugar per liter.⁷ Vodka of Finland is more than 95 percent barley-based.⁸ Estonian Vodka bans distilled water for cutting.⁹

How to taste it

Room temperature tells you more than the freezer does: cold mutes aroma and thickens texture. Pour a small measure into a tulip glass and compare two bases side by side. Estonia's file puts it plainly: potato brings viscosity, sweetness and body; rye is robust and spicy; wheat is subtle and fruity.⁹ Food: pickles, smoked fish, rye bread with butter, pierogi.

Styles and what the label means

• Grain vodka — wheat, rye, barley and other cereals; the EU default. vodka-base-materials →
• Potato vodka — the other traditional base; often fuller in body. vodka-base-materials →
• "Produced from …" — EU label line for vodka made from anything other than potatoes or cereals, such as grapes.⁵
• Flavored vodka — a separate legal class with its own minimum strength and sugar limits. flavored-vodka →
• Charcoal filtered — a U.S. label term with a minimum charcoal dose.¹
• Country-of-origin GIs — Polska Wódka, Svensk Vodka, Vodka of Finland, Estonian Vodka.⁶⁷⁸⁹