It seems to me that the average consumer would not argue what kind of vodka is. Most people will say: “Vodka, it is – vodka.” I asked myself this question a long time ago, years, I confess, so at 18, a student. Yes, yes, I wrote a scientific work on this topic, a term paper, well, the pure truth.
In fact, I began to think about it, once I stumble upon “cedar” vodka, then I come across the corresponding drink marked “birch”. I remember taking cranberry vodka, pepper – one of the most common products.
So I came to the conclusion that vodka is different. Let’s start with ordinary vodka, but even it has several varieties.
I’ll warn you right away: I won’t rely on the information that the Internet gives me. In other sources, more than, “these are the spirits” and “these are the price categories,” I don’t see anything.
What is vodka anyway?
Alcohol and water, if you look at it in general. Alcohol can be of various brands:
- the highest purification is the lowest grade C2H5OH, which is used in the preparation of budget drinks;
- “Basis”;
- “Extra”;
- “Lux”;
- “Alpha”.
Alcohols from “Basis” to “Lux” are made from cereals mixed with potatoes. “Alpha” appeared not so long ago, it is the highest quality alcohol, where only rye and wheat grains are used.
Vodka and “Streletskaya” tincture of the times of the USSR (0,5 – volume standard)
Alcohol “highest purification” is made from raw sugar, cereals, beets and potatoes. There is most rubbish like fusel oils.
So, vodka is a mixture of our C2H5OH with water, with or without additives.
Water can also have some quality – purified, “silver”, melt, spring, mineral, and so on. The higher the quality of water and alcohol, the more expensive the drink.
Vodka ordinary
I consider ordinary vodka those drinks that do not contain components like pine nuts, birch buds, pepper and fruit juices. Ordinary white transparent liquid with a strength of 40%.
The simplest is the division of vodka depending on the volume:
- “Funfiriki” or “schoolgirls” – 100 grams, these are cups, vials, small flasks;
- “checks” – 250 ml;
- “zero five” is, downright, the standard;
- 0,7 l;
- Litruha is twice as good as the standard one.
The remaining volumes from a liter and above, I consider already gift options. I remember seeing vodka in a bottle in the form of a guitar in the window as a child. Five liters for sure.
fruit vodka
“This is different, you need to understand!” is one of the most common quotes from social networks. Fruit vodka contains the juice/extract of the respective ingredients. One of the clearest examples is cranberry – this berry not only gives taste and aroma, but is also an excellent dye.
In fact, everything is the same – alcohol plus water, but with a fruit, let’s say, filler. There is one “BUT” here:
- if the degree of “fruit vodka” is much lower, then this product is nothing more than a tincture;
- if the degree is high, but there is a lot of sugar in the drink, then it is liquor.
In Russia, fruit vodka appeared in the XNUMXth century, grapes served as an additional component, although it is believed that we received this recipe from the French.
Let’s not get into history, what is more important is what we have now. Nowadays, on the shelves of stores you can find cranberry, plum, apricot, peach, and even dogwood vodka.
From left to right, vodka “Absolute” – fruit, plain and vanilla.
A striking example is Kizlyarka. There are also plenty of imported fruit vodkas, you will get both lemon and strawberry vodkas, although, I think, not a small part of such vodkas is water, alcohol and flavorings.
Vodka special
Here it is more interesting – here I will include not only drinks with some additives. Vivid examples are vodkas on pine nuts, birch catkins and with red pepper, sometimes even floating in the bottle.
I remember drinking Nemiroff pepper vodka, yes, pepper is felt well, the drink is sharper, I would say, “burning through”. This is the only type of vodka where I felt something like that. I tried it on pine nuts and birch buds – for some reason I did not feel any special changes.
That’s how it was with me: there were bottles of pepper, cedar, birch and ordinary vodka. I took a glass from each and tried it, the order is this: birch, ordinary, cedar, pepper. I didn’t start with pepper vodka – you definitely won’t feel anything after it.
There was “Gorilka” from “Nemiroff” – I would also classify such vodka as a special group, since it has a completely different taste. I don’t know how to explain – it’s drunk differently, or something.
Tried the one in the middle, it also comes in 250 ml aluminum jars
Here I also include drinks with an alcohol content above or below 40, that is, not the traditional “Russian vodka”.
There is alcohol, which, attention, is labeled as “VODKA” and has a degree of 38%. One such example is Russian Steel. Other similar products with the same degree, and also without additives, are labeled as “TINCTURE” – “Topaz”, “Bread Tale”. Why?
Now, according to our standards, vodka is considered a drink made from alcohol, the share of which is from 38 to 56%, but in 2018 the authorities decided to “lower” the degree to 37,5.
Personally, I’m used to the fact that our vodka is “golden” 40%, as a standard. Lowering the alcohol content by adding (actually) water is, in my opinion, already some kind of nonsense. What do you think, comrades?