Vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world and one of the most misread. A real pod is not simply sweet. It is dark, resinous and faintly smoky, and that is exactly the side a vanilla vodka either catches or misses altogether.

Expert description

Stolichnaya Vanilla Flavored is a Latvian Vodka made from wheat and rye with vanilla flavour, bottled at 37.5%.

Plenty of people still assume the bottle comes from Russia. It does not. Stolichnaya for the European market is blended and bottled at Latvijas Balzams in Riga, a plant that has made spirits since 1900, and the water is Latvian artesian water drawn from wells beneath the site.

The base spirit follows the house recipe: wheat and rye run through columns, then filtration through quartz sand, birch charcoal and finally woven cloth. The rye is the whole reason there is something for the vanilla to hang on. It lays down a dry, faintly peppery floor that the sweetness can lean against instead of spreading out.

The flavour itself comes from natural vanilla aroma added after distillation, as is the norm for flavoured vodka. Bottling strength sits at 37.5% against 38% for the clear expression, and that half a percent shows: this one is a shade rounder in the mouth and less sharp at the close.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla pod and a touch of white chocolate. Behind it sits a dry grain note that keeps the aroma from tipping into cake batter.

Palate

Soft and round. Vanilla and candied sugar fill the front of the mouth before the rye cuts in with a dry edge.

Finish

Medium. The sweetness lets go slowly and leaves something close to vanilla sugar on the tongue.

Specifications

Name: Stolichnaya Vanilla Flavored
Producer: Stoli Group
Region/Country: Riga, Latvia
Type: Latvian Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Column distilled and filtered through quartz sand, birch charcoal and woven cloth
EAN no.: 4750021000393
Serving suggestion: Ice cold over ice with a strip of orange peel, or in an Espresso Martini where the vanilla replaces the syrup.

Flavour profile

Vanilla sweet · Creamy · Round · Lightly peppery

Did you know?

The name Stolichnaya is the adjectival form of the Russian stolitsa, capital. The bottle is literally called the one from the capital — a name from the 1930s that today sits on a vodka filled in Riga.

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In Kaunas stands a red brick factory that has been making grain spirit since 1906. It has survived two world wars, a Soviet era and a rebirth as free Lithuanian craft. This bottle was the first organic vodka the house released — and the first from Lithuania at all.

Expert description

Stumbras Premium Organic Vodka is a Lithuanian Organic Vodka made from organic wheat and deep subsurface water, bottled at 40%.

The grain comes exclusively from EU certified organic fields, kept apart from the surrounding conventional land so that no mixing happens along the way. The water is drawn from deep down, where it has been shielded from surface contamination for thousands of years. Those two things are what an organic certification stands or falls on, and both are controllable.

The filtration is the technical signature. The spirit passes first through sand, then through activated charcoal, and finally through a linen filter — a method that was new to Lithuania when the bottle launched. The linen catches the last particles mechanically rather than binding aroma compounds chemically the way charcoal does, and that is why the grain character is still there afterwards.

You can taste it. The vodka is unusually mild, almost gentle, with a clear sweetness in the middle that is not added but comes from the wheat. There are no sharp edges and no spirit bite, and it belongs among the vodkas that best withstand being drunk neat at the table.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and gentle with a soft grain note. Behind it sits a suggestion of white bread and a stroke of fresh grass.

Palate

Very mild with a clear, natural sweetness in the middle. The texture is smooth and lightly syrupy, without any sharpness.

Finish

Short and clean with a soft trail of sweetness. No warmth arrives at the end.

Specifications

Name: Stumbras Premium Organic Vodka
Distillery: Stumbras
Region/Country: Kaunas, Lithuania
Type: Lithuanian Organic Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from organic wheat, filtered through sand, activated charcoal and linen
EAN no.: 4770033228585
Serving suggestion: Chilled to 5-10 degrees in a small glass with herring and rye bread.

Flavour profile

Mild · Soft · Lightly sweet · Clean

Did you know?

Stumbras means wisent in Lithuanian, that is the European bison. The animal is the largest land mammal in Europe, vanished from the Lithuanian forests and was reintroduced during the last century. The name was hardly picked at random for a spirit meant to signal strength and Lithuanian nature.

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Beside Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria sits a distillery in a converted 1850s farmstead, with the River Derwent just outside and the fells behind. The Lake District is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and that is the landscape which ends up in the bottle.

Expert description

The Lakes Vodka is an English Vodka from The Lakes Distillery in Cumbria, distilled once from British wheat in a copper pot still and bottled at 40%.

Please note: the bottle is delivered in the house red gift box, made to a solid standard and ready to be handed on as it is.

A single distillation is an unusual choice for a vodka. Most producers run the distillate through a column again and again to end up as neutral as possible, but here it stays with that one pass through a handmade copper pot still. In exchange, time is taken over it, and the wheat is allowed to remain in the distillate.

It is therefore not an empty vodka. There is a clear, soft sweetness from the grain and a mouthfeel fuller than the strength suggests. The water comes from the distillery's own home inside the Lake District National Park, and the colour is natural.

The bottle follows the house design, the same one you know from its gin and whisky: a plain cut, heavy shoulders, no unnecessary decoration. The gift box is red and well made, and it is the reason this particular version is easy to pass on without further wrapping.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and almost neutral. A pale grain note with a hint of freshly baked bread.

Palate

Soft and lightly sweet. The wheat fills the middle, and a kick of white pepper appears at the side of the tongue.

Finish

Short and clear. The sweetness disappears quickly and leaves a dry, clean impression behind.

Specifications

Name: The Lakes Vodka
Distillery: The Lakes Distillery
Region/Country: Cumbria, England
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled once from British wheat in a copper pot still
EAN no.: 5060307840186
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass, or in an Espresso Martini as the distillery itself recommends.

Flavour profile

Clean · Soft · Lightly wheat-sweet · White pepper

Did you know?

The Lakes Vodka was named the world's best vodka at the World Vodka Awards in 2019. The judges described it as very clean on the nose with a little sweetness and a peppery kick at the side of the tongue, recognition an English distillery founded in 2014 had no right to expect so quickly.

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In the mid nineties a former geologist stood on the edge of Austin building his own distillery out of second hand equipment and welded pipe. He had no experience with spirits, but he had been making infused vodka for friends and reckoned it could turn into something. It became the first legal distillery in Texas.

Expert description

Tito's Handmade Vodka is an American Vodka distilled from corn in pot stills six times over and bottled at 40%.

The unusual part is the still type. Almost all vodka in the world is made in continuous column plants, because that is the fast and inexpensive way to clean up a spirit. Tito's runs pot stills instead, the same shape you know from Single Malt Whisky and cognac, and every batch is distilled six times. It takes longer and uses more grain, but it allows tasting along the way and cutting the distillate exactly where you want it.

The raw material is corn, and that is what gives the soft, almost creamy character. The vodka is finally filtered through activated charcoal, which strips the last of the sharpness. Because no wheat, rye or barley is involved, Tito's is certified gluten free, and that is one explanation for how big it became in the United States.

The bottle looks the way it does on purpose. Ordinary glass, paper label, no crystal and no artist collaboration. The company is still called Fifth Generation and still sits in Austin, and the money goes into the contents rather than the packaging.

Tasting notes

Nose

Mild and lightly sweet with a trace of corn and vanilla. There is almost no alcoholic sharpness to smell.

Palate

Soft and rounded with a creamy texture. The corn gives a light sweetness, and a fine peppery edge arrives right at the back of the mouth.

Finish

Clean and short. The sweetness drops away immediately and no heat lingers.

Specifications

Name: Tito's Handmade Vodka
Distillery: Tito's Handmade Vodka
Region/Country: Austin, Texas, USA
Type: American Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Pot distilled six times from corn, filtered through activated charcoal
EAN no.: 619947000112
Serving suggestion: In a Vodka Soda with lime, or in a Bloody Mary where the softness carries the spice.

Flavour profile

Soft · Creamy · Lightly sweet · Clean

Did you know?

The man behind it is called Bert Beveridge, and that is his real surname. He picked up the nickname Tito as a child. Not many people in the drinks trade are born with a better head start.

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Touko Laaksonen drew under the name Tom of Finland for decades in which his subject matter was illegal across most of Europe. Today his work hangs in museums, and it stands on a vodka bottle from his home country.

Expert description

Tom of Finland Vodka is a Finnish Vodka from Lignell & Piispanen in Kuopio, distilled five times from organic wheat and rye and bottled at 40%.

The grain is organic wheat and rye, a combination less common than it sounds. Wheat brings softness, rye brings spice, and together they land somewhere between the Polish rye style and the milder Scandinavian one. The water is arctic, and nothing at all is added, neither colour nor sugar.

Five distillations and a subsequent sheet filtration are what make it smooth enough that there is practically no burn. That is a technical point with a practical consequence: it can be drunk neat at room temperature without needing to hide behind cold.

The label is not decoration. Laaksonen drew his figures from the 1940s onwards, and they became iconic at a time when homosexuality was criminalised in Finland. A share of the profit from every bottle goes to the Tom of Finland Foundation, which works to preserve erotic art.

Tasting notes

Nose

Completely clean. A fine trace of rye bread crust and a hint of aniseed, with no sharp alcohol on the nose.

Palate

Silky with no burn. Vanilla and cream soda first, then a spiced rise with cracked black pepper and a touch of star anise.

Finish

Medium and mild. The spice fades slowly and leaves a soft, clean impression behind.

Specifications

Name: Tom of Finland Vodka
Distillery: Lignell & Piispanen
Region/Country: Kuopio, Finland
Type: Finnish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 50 CL
Natural colour: Yes
Distillation method: Five times distilled from organic wheat and rye, sheet filtered, reduced with arctic water
EAN no.: 6430043095000
Serving suggestion: Neat and cool in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini where the rye spice gets room.

Flavour profile

Organic · Silky · Rye-spiced · Black pepper

Did you know?

Drawings by Tom of Finland were printed on Finnish postage stamps in 2014, and the release became one of the most requested stamp designs the Finnish post has ever issued. The same artist now stands on the label.

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In Norse mythology Fenrir the wolf lies bound until the world ends. In Kolding the name has landed on a bottle. Behind it stand two hand-beaten copper pot stills of 500 litres and a distillery that has never been in a hurry to grow large.

Expert description

Trolden Fenris Vodka is a Danish Vodka from Trolden in Kolding, triple distilled in pot stills and bottled at 37.5%.

Trolden started as a brewery in Kolding in 2005 and let the distillery follow later. There is no production line and no off-the-shelf answers; the stills are small enough for one person to watch a whole run. That naturally caps how much can leave the building, but that is also the entire point.

Choosing a pot still over a column is what decides how Fenris tastes. A column scrubs the spirit again and again until little more than alcohol and water remains. A pot still lets more of the raw material come across. So there is still malted sweetness and a lightly oily weight in the glass, where many other vodkas have been polished flat.

Tasting notes

Nose

Mild and held back. A soft sweetness with something plum-like about it, and a dry grain note behind.

Palate

Round and almost oily in the mouth. Malted sweetness fills the middle before a light peppery warmth arrives.

Finish

Short to medium. The sweetness pulls away and a dry, grainy trace is left behind.

Specifications

Name: Trolden Fenris Vodka
Distillery: Trolden
Region/Country: Kolding, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled in pot stills
EAN no.: 5704021010059
Serving suggestion: Fridge cold in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini where the malt sweetness gets room to spread.

Flavour profile

Round · Malty · Oily · Mild

Did you know?

Fenris also exists in a cocoa and orange version. Same spirit, same stills, but a flavouring that pulls the vodka towards the dessert glass rather than the freezer.

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Some bottles are worth keeping after the last glass. Ultimat arrives in a cobalt blue crystal decanter with thick walls and a single small air bubble suspended in the middle of the glass. The bubble is not a flaw. It is placed there deliberately, and every decanter is inspected before it is filled.

Expert description

Ultimat is a Polish Vodka distilled from wheat, rye and potato alike, bottled at 40%.

The combination is the unusual part. Polish vodka is almost always made either from grain or from potato, because the two raw materials behave differently through fermentation and distillation and each needs its own handling. Ultimat does both and blends afterwards, with every ingredient playing a role: wheat for softness, rye for spice and clarity, potato for body and weight.

It shows up most clearly in the mouthfeel. Pure grain vodkas are often light and direct, while potato vodka is thicker and fuller, almost oily. This one sits between the two, a fat, dense texture with a dry, peppery edge from the rye laid over the top. It fills the mouth more than the alcohol percentage alone would suggest.

The decanter is meant to match the contents. The thick cobalt blue crystal is heavy to lift, the stopper sits firmly, and the shape looks closer to a perfume flacon than a spirits bottle. If you are giving vodka to someone who would never buy it themselves, this one is hard to argue with.

Tasting notes

Nose

Discreet and clean with a trace of wheat bread. Behind it sits an earthy tone from the potato, clearest when the vodka is not fully chilled.

Palate

Fat and dense in the mouth with a soft sweetness on the attack. The rye arrives halfway with dryness and white pepper, and the potato supplies the weight underneath it all.

Finish

Long for a vodka, dry and lightly peppered. No sharpness at the end, just a receding warmth.

Specifications

Name: Ultimat
Producer: Ultimat Vodka
Region/Country: Poland
Type: Polish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled from wheat, rye and potato
Serving suggestion: Cool and neat in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini where the texture gets room to spread.

Flavour profile

Full bodied · Peppery · Soft · Dry

Did you know?

The term Polska Wodka is protected in the EU in much the same way as Champagne. To use it, both the grain and the potato must be grown in Poland and the entire production has to take place in the country. It is one of the few corners of the vodka world where origin is actually written into law.

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Ruby red vodka sounds like a colouring agent at work. Here the colour arrived the long way round: from a Danish rosé wine blended in after distillation. The bottle is the same champagne bottle as always. The contents are somewhere else entirely.

Expert description

Vodka Bornholm Rosé Edition is a Danish Vodka from Bornholm Spirits, blended with Danish rosé wine and bottled at 37.5%.

The wine is Barfod Cabernet Cantor 2021, and it accounts for both the colour and a large part of the aroma. Cherry, strawberry and raspberry sit up front, and beneath the fruit come black pepper and thyme. Those are notes you rarely meet in a vodka.

The base is the crystal clear Vodka Bornholm, which has rested with Bornholm granite and is therefore easy to handle. At 37.5% it sits below a standard vodka, and that pulls the bottle towards something you sip rather than knock back.

It is made in small batches only and released as a limited edition. Served properly cold with tonic or sparkling water, it is built for light evenings rather than for the freezer.

Tasting notes

Nose

Cherry and strawberry with raspberry behind them. A dry thread of thyme keeps the sweetness in place.

Palate

Soft and light. The red fruit fills the middle, then a twist of black pepper arrives and gives it an edge.

Finish

Medium. The fruit withdraws slowly while the pepper and a herbal streak stay behind.

Specifications

Name: Vodka Bornholm Rosé Edition
Distillery: Bornholm Spirits
Region/Country: Nexø, Bornholm, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Edition: Limited Edition
EAN no.: 5703397000800
Serving suggestion: Properly cold with tonic or sparkling water and a few fresh berries in the glass.

Flavour profile

Berry-driven · Soft · Lightly spiced · Summery

Did you know?

Den Bornholmske Spritfabrik opened in Nexø in 1994 and brought aquavit production back to the island after decades away. Bornholmerakvavit was originally made on Bornholm from 1855 to 1920.

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The bedrock under Bornholm is older than most of Europe. It has been lying there for two billion years, and now a piece of it sits down in the tank alongside the vodka. It sounds like a gimmick. It is not quite that.

Expert description

Vodka Bornholm is a Danish Vodka from Bornholm Spirits, made from organic wheat and bottled at 40%.

After distillation the vodka is left to rest with Bornholm granite for four to six months. The stone releases minerals into the liquid, and the result is a softer, rounder vodka where the alcoholic edge has stepped back. The granite comes from Rønne and is more than two billion years old.

The wheat is organic, and the bottle is a champagne bottle with a wooden cap that can be put back on. It is a piece of packaging theatre, but a practical one: pour a single glass and the rest of the bottle does not have to stand there with a loose stopper in the neck.

Bornholm Spirits sits in Nexø on the east coast of the island and has been making the vodka since late 2018. It is also known as Smagen af Vodka Bornholm, and it is built as much for drinking neat as for going into a drink.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and light. Mild grain sweetness, a hint of white bread and something cool and mineral behind it.

Palate

Soft and round from the start. The wheat gives a muted sweetness, and no sharp alcoholic heat arrives to interrupt it.

Finish

Short and clean with a mineral lift. The sweetness falls away quietly without leaving bitterness.

Specifications

Name: Vodka Bornholm
Distillery: Bornholm Spirits
Region/Country: Nexø, Bornholm, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
EAN no.: 5744000832005
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass, or in a Moscow Mule where the softness suits the ginger.

Flavour profile

Soft · Mineral · Clean · Lightly grain-sweet

Did you know?

Bornholm Spirits began in 2016 as a group of friends who wanted to make the strongest chilli schnapps in Denmark. In 2021 they bought Den Bornholmske Spritfabrik, and the name changed from Snaps Bornholm to Bornholm Spirits.

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There is one letter too many in the name, and it is entirely deliberate. The character is the same one that sits on the Danish organic mark, and it has been dropped into the middle of the word vodka so that the label becomes the name. Rarely has a spelling mistake been so carefully considered.

Expert description

Vødtka is an Organic Danish Vodka from Søbogaard, made from organic wheat and bottled at 40%.

Søbogaard is not a distillery in the classic sense. The house was built around organic juice and soft drinks, and the spirits arrived as a side branch of the same thinking: organic raw materials, short ingredient lists and no artificial additions. The alcohol is wheat based, and the flavouring is handled by Søbogaard themselves.

It is a simple vodka, and that is not meant as criticism. The wheat gives a clear, soft sweetness that is allowed to carry the whole thing, while a slender herbal note and a touch of pepper keep it from turning dull. Silky is the word used about it, and it fits.

Tasting notes

Nose

Clean and pale. Wheat sweetness first, then something green and grassy that recalls lemongrass.

Palate

Silky and light. The sweetness lands early on the tongue and a discreet dusting of pepper follows without stabbing.

Finish

Short and clean. Only a faint herbal note and a trace of warmth remain.

Specifications

Name: Vødtka
Producer: Søbogaard
Region/Country: Denmark
Type: Organic Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Serving suggestion: As a shot with blinis and caviar, or in an Espresso Martini or Cosmopolitan.

Flavour profile

Silky · Wheat sweet · Lightly herbal · Clean

Did you know?

Søbogaard run production both in Herning and in Borup on Zealand. Two parts of the country stand behind the same bottle, which is unusual for a house of that size.

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Blood oranges grow in only a few places on earth, and the best of them are the slopes around Etna in Sicily. Volcanic soil, cold nights and burning days give the fruit its dark red colour and the bittersweet edge an ordinary orange never develops. That edge is what this bottle is built around.

Expert description

Whitley Neill Blood Orange is an English Vodka flavoured with extract of Sicilian blood oranges and bottled at 43%.

Whitley Neill is an English house with a family distilling history reaching back to 1762, and the current distiller Johnny Neill is the eighth generation. The brand grew large on gin, travelling the world for botanicals, and the same approach sits behind the vodkas: find a raw material with character in one particular place and build the bottle around it.

The base is a clean grain vodka, and blood orange extract sits on top of it. The interesting part is the strength. Where most flavoured vodkas drop to 37.5% or lower once sugar and flavouring are in, this one holds 43%. That means the citrus does not drown in sweetness, and the bottle genuinely works as a cocktail base rather than only as a shot.

In the glass it comes straight at you. There is orange peel, juice and a trace of the bitter pith you know from a fresh blood orange, and beneath it the vodka itself lies as a clean, dry floor. It is not subtle, but it was never built to be.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh blood orange and grated orange zest, clear and direct. Behind it sits a faint spiced note, close to cloves.

Palate

Juicy and tart with orange peel and a light bitterness from the white pith. The grain base keeps it dry, and the 43% delivers a warm push halfway through.

Finish

Medium with peel and bitter orange. The sweetness drops away quickly, leaving a dry citrus edge.

Specifications

Name: Whitley Neill Blood Orange
Producer: Whitley Neill
Region/Country: England
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Grain vodka flavoured with blood orange extract
EAN no.: 5011166054788
Serving suggestion: With tonic and a slice of orange, or in a Blood Orange Mule with ginger beer and lime.

Flavour profile

Blood orange · Tart · Bittersweet · Dry

Did you know?

43% is unusually high for a flavoured vodka. The great majority sit at 37.5%, because added sugar and flavouring dilute the alcohol and because lower strength costs less in duty. Whitley Neill has kept the strength up, and that is why the citrus stands so sharply in a drink over ice.

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There is no sugar in it, and it still tastes of orange. Wild Distillery runs the fruit through the still instead of pouring flavouring in afterwards, and the difference registers immediately: this is peel and juice, not soft drink.

Expert description

Wild Distillery REN Appelsin is a Danish Vodka from Bornholm, distilled five times from organic wheat together with organic oranges and bottled at 40%.

No sugar, sweeteners or flavouring compounds are added. The orange goes into the distillation itself, and that is why the citrus note reads dry and fresh rather than sugary. You get the brightness of the peel without the sticky aftertaste that marks a lot of orange spirits.

Wild Distillery is a micro distillery at Lobbæk outside Aakirkeby on Bornholm. The house makes organic gin, vodka and aquavit, and wherever possible the raw materials come from the island itself. The distillery states that the distillate is gluten free.

REN Appelsin took silver at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 2023. It is built first and foremost for drinks, but it also stands up to being served cold and neat.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh orange peel, obvious but never perfumed. Behind it sits a soft grain character and a trace of blossom.

Palate

Clean and light at first, then the orange opens out with both juice and a little bitterness from the peel. No sugary sweetness anywhere.

Finish

Short and dry. The citrus drops away and a cool trace of peel remains.

Specifications

Name: Wild Distillery REN Appelsin
Distillery: Wild Distillery
Region/Country: Bornholm, Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled five times
EAN no.: 5714884000166
Serving suggestion: In a Screwdriver or a spritz, or cold and neat in a small glass.

Flavour profile

Fresh · Citrus · Dry · Lightly grain-sweet

Did you know?

Wild Distillery holds a special permit from the Danish Nature Agency allowing it to pick wild Bornholm juniper and sloe berries. They do not go into the vodka, but into the house WILD gin.

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Rye is the grain of Poland. It grows where wheat gives up, it bakes into bread that keeps for a week, and in distilled form it is the backbone of the country's vodka tradition. WÓDKA sticks to a single rye variety and lets it decide everything.

Expert description

WÓDKA Vodka is a Polish Vodka distilled solely from the Dankowskie Golden rye variety, five times column distilled and bottled at 40%.

The rye comes from a single estate and is distilled just outside Kalisz in central Poland. Dankowskie is the variety Polish producers themselves point to when genuine rye vodka comes up, and it is grown for exactly this purpose. After five passes through the column, the spirit is filtered twice through charcoal burned from Polish birch.

Five distillations sound like a road towards the neutral, but the aim here is different: to clean without removing. The rye character still stands clearly in the glass, and that is precisely what the judges rewarded when the vodka took Double Gold and was named Overall Best Vodka at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2017.

Tasting notes

Nose

Vanilla and freshly baked rye bread, with a clear scatter of black pepper on top.

Palate

Full and broad. The rye carries all the way with a bready sweetness, while pepper cuts a dry line through the middle.

Finish

Long and fine. Almond and rye bread linger, and white pepper arrives on its own at the close.

Specifications

Name: WÓDKA Vodka
Producer: WÓDKA
Region/Country: Kalisz, Poland
Type: Polish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Five times column distilled, filtered through birch charcoal
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass with herring or smoked fish, or in a Bloody Mary where the rye has something to say.

Flavour profile

Rye spiced · Bready · Peppery · Full

Did you know?

The word wódka is a diminutive of woda, the Polish word for water. Translated directly it means little water — a modest title for something that has been the subject of state monopolies and court cases over which country invented it.

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Out in the Białowieża forest on the border between Poland and Belarus, the last wild bison in Europe graze in woodland that has never been felled. Beneath them grows a sweetly scented grass that Poles have been steeping in spirit for centuries. One blade of it sits in every single bottle.

Expert description

Zubrowka Bison Grass is a Polish Vodka made from rye, flavoured with a tincture of bison grass and bottled at 37.5%.

The grass is called Hierochloe odorata and smells of freshly cut hay, vanilla and a hint of almond. That aroma comes from coumarin, the same compound that makes tonka beans and woodruff recognisable, and it is why Zubrowka tastes of something no other vodka tastes of. The faint green colour comes from the grass alone.

The method is simple and old. The rye vodka has a tincture of dried bison grass added, harvested in and around the Białowieża forest, and finally a single blade is dropped into each bottle. The blade is not merely decoration. It signals that this is the original recipe rather than an industrial imitation built on added flavouring.

Poles nearly always drink it with cloudy apple juice. The mix is called Szarlotka after the Polish word for apple pie, and the name is accurate: the vanilla of the grass meets the acidity of the apple, and the result tastes strikingly like baked apple with cinnamon. It is one of the few vodka drinks where the spirit is genuinely meant to be noticed.

Tasting notes

Nose

Freshly cut hay and vanilla on top, with thyme and a floral streak of lavender behind. Nothing sharp anywhere in the aroma.

Palate

Silky and round with a clear herbal character. Lavender and jasmine tea lead, and a fine citrus edge sits underneath it all.

Finish

Medium and lightly sweet. The hay returns at the end, and there is no burning alcohol edge.

Specifications

Name: Zubrowka Bison Grass
Producer: Zubrowka
Region/Country: Poland
Type: Polish Vodka
ABV: 37.5%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Rye vodka flavoured with a tincture of bison grass
EAN no.: 5900343005296
Serving suggestion: Ice cold with fresh cloudy apple juice, one part vodka to three parts juice. The mix is called Szarlotka.

Flavour profile

Herbal · Floral · Silky · Lightly sweet

Did you know?

The coumarin in bison grass was for decades the reason Zubrowka could not be sold in the United States. American authorities banned the compound as a food additive in 1954, and only in 2011 did a special version reach the American market with the coumarin removed. That bottle does not taste quite like this one.

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