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One day I went to dinner with my parents. In the nearest store, I bought a check for appetite, which caused Bati nostalgia for the old days. In the era of the USSR, I was just a kid, and I was interested in lemonade, and my father worked at the factory. After a work shift, it was not a sin to relax with colleagues.
The memories of my father awakened curiosity in me. I wanted to know how vodka was made in the Soviet Union, and whether it is so different from today.
The story was shared by blog subscriber Dmitry.
Vodka production technology in the USSR
In Soviet times, when the state controlled the production of alcohol, there were only five recipes for making vodka. Its main components were:
- Ethanol. Raw materials were produced from cereals and potatoes, the purity of the rectified product was strictly monitored.
- Water. Soviet factories used natural, often river water. Tap water is too hard, so the quality of the drink deteriorated.
Interesting: alcohol from molasses was strictly prohibited at the factories.
An important stage of production is filtration with birch charcoal. Empirically, it was found that prolonged contact with coal worsened the taste of vodka, so the filtration time did not exceed 30 minutes.
The resulting liquid was passed through sand and gravel to make the finished drink crystal clear.
Soviet vodka production
There are very few photos of Soviet-era distilleries on the Internet. In those days, cameras were not available to everyone. But I did find some pictures.
Water tower for water intake.
Storage of diluted alcohol.
Flood shop.
Pouring into glass containers.
Laboratory.
I came across an interesting statistic: in 1980, distilleries produced 295 million deciliters of alcoholic beverages. If we calculate the average consumption, we get 8,7 liters per capita.
How GOST was transformed into vodka
The first quality standard was introduced in 1941. The drink obtained by combining ethyl alcohol and water was called vodka. Factories produced products of various strengths:
- 40%;
- 50%;
- 56%.
Alcohol for production had to meet strict standards, otherwise the violator faced serious punishment. The drink was poured exclusively into glass containers. For example, lovers of strong drinks could buy bottles from 100 g to 3 liters in a store. I think it’s very convenient.
For the first time, GOST underwent changes in 1982, and the number of ingredients in the composition expanded significantly. It was allowed to add honey, sugar, citric acid.
The volume of glass containers has also changed: bottles from 50 g to 1,75 liters appeared on sale. Popular brands “Pshenichnaya” and “Stolichnaya” were poured into original containers made of porcelain and crystal.
In 1999, a new standard was adopted, and a small proportion of methyl alcohol (0,03%) was allowed in vodka. I heard the theory that methyl alcohol was previously contained in vodka, but the instruments could not record such meager indicators.
Modern technologies for the production of vodka
Now we drink vodka according to GOST, which came into force in 2014. As before, the drink consists of ethyl alcohol, water and additives.
The standard approved three categories of alcohol:
- “Lux”: a mixture of cereals;
- “Extra”: grain and potatoes;
- “Alpha”: from one type of grain (wheat or rye).
The lion’s share of vodka (90%) is made from “lux” alcohol, but I could not taste it apart from “extra” raw materials. Only a chromatograph can determine the composition, which determines the amount of impurities in production.
By the way, flavor additives in vodka are contained in homeopathic doses, so they do not save you from a hangover in the morning.
Interesting! In 1982, an international arbitration awarded vodka the title of “original Russian drink” and granted Russia the exclusive right to advertise.
Modern Russian production
Since the liquor production went into private hands, more than 5000 vodka brands have been registered in Russia. The competition in this market is quite serious, so companies control quality and mechanize production.
Water purification in membrane plants.
Filtration of water-alcohol mixture.
Dosing of ingredients.
A virtual journey into the past did not convince me that vodka used to be tastier. Apparently, the memories of his father are nostalgia for the past.
Of course, I could be wrong, because I have never tried real Soviet vodka. Share with me your thoughts on this, and perhaps memories.