Vodka is among the most important category in spirits in the western world because of their popularity. The origin of vodka was the desire to preserve grain from spoilage, and rudimentary distillation was practiced throughout north-central Europe as early as the 14th century. Today, this region has developed a widespread culture of vodka consumption – cold, neat, & with food.
Pot still vodka was often made by the noblemen on their estates. This hobby of the aristocracy was made with a very small heart, and was fined with milk and charcoal filtered to improve purity. There developed a long tradition of flavoring vodkas and having a library of different types of vodka. One driver for the popularity of vodka was the high price of French brandy and Italian liqueur.
Triple distillation of vodka began in Poland in the 17th C, but the quest for purity was driven to new heights as the Russian state researched continuous distillation. After the revolution, however, Lenin feared that vodka was corroding the masses, and outlawed anything over 20% ABV in 1917, and it was not until 1930 that it returned to 40% ABV. In 1936, Stalin saw its usefulness and began to encourage its consumption, and during World War II, the Soviets issued vodka rations to their troops.
The product was brought to the US by immigrants by the end of the 19th C, and vodka began to gain in popularity with the cocktail boom of the 1910s, making an appearance in San Francisco in 1914. In 1920, the Bloody Mary was invented in Paris. After prohibition, Rudolf Kunett purchased rights to Smirnoff and began to sell a small quantity, launching it with a cocktail contest that produced a “red” martini. “Leaves you breathless” was a successful ad campaign in the late 50s/early 60s. It was during the 30s that vodka gained currency among trendsetters in the U.S. and in London, and in the 40s it was brilliantly promoted by John Martin at Heublin.
During WWII, it became more fashionable since Russia was our ally, and since there was no whisky. A famous vodka cocktail from this period was the Moscow Mule, which was invented at the Cock and Bull in Hollywood – vodka, limejuice, ginger beer.
In the late 40s, we drank 200,000 gal; by late 50s, we drank 10,000,000. By the mid 1970s, vodka became the number one consumed spirit category.
Definition of vodka
Today, the word “Vodka” has come to mean a pure spirit with little, if any, aroma, color, or flavor distilled from any of a number of initial ingredients. The U.S. government defines it simply as “A neutral spirit without distinctive character, aroma, taste or colour,” while the E.U. definition notes that it is “…a spirit drink produced by rectifying or filtering (through active charcoal) ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin possibly followed by straightforward distillation or an equivalent treatment…the product may give special characteristics, such as a mellow taste, by the addition of flavouring.”
Tasting experience, however, proves both of these definitions false: different first ingredients do yield different results. The water source adds another element, as does the different filtration techniques that can be employed.
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Wine Regions of the World
