Vodka
Vodka is by far the most popular spirit category in America, accounting for more than 20-percent of all distilled spirits consumption. It is a light, crisp, dry and flavorless spirit, ideal for blending with virtually all fruit juices, mixes and other spirits. Domestically produced vodka is legally defined as “neutral spirits so distilled as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.” Better vodkas are filtered multiple times through activated charcoal or very fine quartz sand. Vodka is essentially an un-aged neutral spirit that can be distilled from just about anything fermentable. Most vodkas are made from grain, but some are also made from potatoes and grapes among other things. Imported Vodka has a different legal set of standards that allow particular premium vodkas to have subtle, distinct flavors-nuances, which many people enjoy.
Production & Distillation
The production of vodka begins with the distillation of a fermented material at a very high proof (about 190 degrees, or 95-percent alcohol). This effectively eliminates many of the congeners (the impurities found in a spirit when it is distilled below 100-percent alcohol) that usually lend distinctive flavors to whiskeys, which are distilled at lower proofs (about 160 degrees). The absence of these congeners is what gives vodka its flavorless, odorless qualities.
Vodka can be further purified by undergoing a filtration process. With modern distilling technology, alcohol comes from the still about 95-percent pure. Filtration removes some, if not all, of the remaining five percent of impurities. After distillation and filtration, the high-proof alcohol is cut to about 80 proof with water. The source of water, too, is an important factor in the final product since over half of what is in the bottle is water. Highly treated water will not taste as good as fresh spring water. The raw products, finishing process, method of distillation, equipment, water and other factors determines the final quality of the vodka.
Not all vodkas are flavorless, nor are they meant to be. Many brands have expanded their lines with the use of citrus, pepper, currant, orange and cranberry flavors. Mixability was vodka's first attraction and remains its strength. The Bloody Mary and Screwdriver are vodka originals. Vodka has also moved into recipes originated for gin and rum and other spirits. Vodka and tonic, vodka martini, cosmopolitan, vodka and soda, vodka punches and cocktails are all part of the spirit's almost endless repertoire.
