Vodka

The word vodka in English was borrowed from Russian and it can be literally translated as 'little water'; it is a diminutive of the Russian word voda ('water'). In English literature, the word vodka first appeared around the late 18th century. In a book of travels published in English in 1780 (presumably, a translation from German), Johann Gottlieb Georgi correctly explained that "kabak in the Russian language signifies a public house for the common people to drink vodka (a sort of brandy) in". In 1799, William Tooke glossed vodka as "rectified corn-spirits", using the traditional English sense of the word corn to refer to any grain, not just maize. In 1800, the French poet Théophile Gautier glossed it as a "grain liquor" served with meals in Poland (eau-de-vie de grain). Another possible connection of vodka with water is the name of the medieval alcoholic beverage aqua vitae (Latin, literally, 'water of life'), which is reflected in Polish , Ukrainian , Belarusian , and Scandinavian akvavit. Whiskey has a similar etymology, from Irish and Scottish Gaelic uisce beatha / uisge-beatha. People in the area of vodka's probable origin have names for vodka with roots meaning 'to burn': ; ; ; ; is also in use, colloquially and in proverbs; ; . In Russian during the 17th and 18th centuries, (goryashchee vino 'burning wine' or 'hot wine') was widely used. Others languages include German Branntwein, Danish brændevin, , , and (although the latter terms refer to any strong alcoholic beverage). ==History==

" countries of Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe are the historic home of vodka. These countries have the highest vodka consumption in the world. Scholars debate the beginnings of vodka. There is little historical material available, but it has been linked to the Slavic world for centuries, with Poles and Russians disputing its creation. For many centuries, beverages differed significantly compared to the vodka of today, as the spirit at that time had a different flavor, color, and smell, and was originally used as medicine. It contained little alcohol, an estimated maximum of about 14%. Distillation techniques were developed in Roman Egypt by the 3rd century, but the description of aqua ardens ("burning water", i.e., alcohol) made by distilling wine with salt appears in Latin works only by the 12th century. The process was well known among European medieval chemists by about 1300. Poland The world's first written mention of the word wódka was in 1405 from Akta Grodzkie recorder of deeds, in the court documents from the Palatinate of Sandomierz in Poland. Vodka production on a much larger scale began in Poland at the end of the 16th century, initially at Kraków, whence spirits were exported to Silesia before 1550. Silesian cities also bought vodka from Poznań, a city that in 1580 had 498 working spirits distilleries. However, Gdańsk soon surpassed both these cities. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Polish vodka was known in the Netherlands, Denmark, England, Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria and the Black Sea basin. Early production methods were rudimentary. The beverage was usually low-proof, and the distillation process had to be repeated several times (a three-stage distillation process was common). The first distillate was called brantówka, the second was szumówka, and the third was okowita (from aqua vitae), which generally contained 70–80% ABV. Then the beverage was watered down, yielding a simple vodka (30–35% ABV), or a stronger one if the watering was done using an alembic. The exact production methods were described in 1768 by Jan Paweł Biretowski and in 1774 by Jan Chryzostom Pasek. The late 18th century inaugurated the production of vodka from various unusual substances including even the carrot. Though there was a substantial vodka cottage industry in Poland back to the 16th century, the end of the 18th century marked the start of real industrial production of vodka in Poland (Kresy, the eastern part of Poland, was part of the Russian Empire at that time). Vodkas produced by the nobility and clergy became a mass product. The first industrial distillery was opened in 1782 in Lwów by J. A. Baczewski. He was soon followed by Jakub Haberfeld, who in 1804 established a factory at Oświęcim, and by Hartwig Kantorowicz, who started producing Wyborowa in 1823 at Poznań. The implementation of new technologies in the latter half of the 19th century, which allowed the production of clear vodkas, contributed to their success. The first rectification distillery was established in 1871. In 1925, the production of clear vodkas was made a Polish government monopoly. By 1911, vodka comprised 89% of all alcohol consumed in Russia. This level has fluctuated somewhat during the 20th century but remained quite high at all times. The most recent estimates put it at 70% (2001). Post-Soviet Russia Vodka remains a major source of state revenue and therefore of power. According to Mark Lawrence Schrad, a professor of political science, seizing control of the state spirits monopoly Rosspirtprom and its Kristall distillery was instrumental in Vladimir Putin consolidating his power as prime minister and president. During his tenure, the Putinka ('little Putin') brand of vodka became a bestseller, partly to Putin's financial benefit. Sweden From the 1960s, unflavoured Swedish brännvin also came to be called vodka. The first Swedish product to use this term was Explorer Vodka, which was created in 1958 and initially was intended for the American export market. Although it ultimately failed in that market, it remains one of the most popular vodka brands in Sweden today. In 1979, Absolut Vodka was launched, reusing the name of the old Absolut Rent Brännvin ("absolutely pure brännvin") created in 1879. After Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, the regulations were changed so that privately owned companies could produce Vodka. Vodka has become popular among young people, with a flourishing black market. In 2013, the organizers of the so-called "vodka car" were jailed for two and a half years for having illegally provided thousands of liters to young people, some as young as 13. ==Production==

) Vodka may be distilled from any starch- or sugar-rich plant matter; most vodka today is produced from grains such as sorghum, corn, rye, or wheat. Some vodkas are made from potatoes, molasses, soybeans, grapes, rice, sugar beets and sometimes even byproducts of oil refining or wood pulp processing. In some Central European countries, such as Poland, some vodka is produced by just fermenting a solution of crystal sugar and yeast. In the European Union, there are talks about the standardization of vodka, and the Vodka Belt countries insist that only spirits produced from grains, potato, and sugar beet molasses be allowed to be branded as "vodka", following the traditional methods of production. In the United States, many vodkas are made from 95% pure grain alcohol produced in large quantities by agricultural-industrial giants Archer Daniels Midland, Grain Processing Corporation, and Midwest Grain Products (MGP). Bottlers purchase the base spirits in bulk, then filter, dilute, distribute and market the end product under a variety of vodka brand names. Similar methods are used in other regions such as Europe. This pure grain alcohol, also known as rectified spirit, neutral spirit, or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is also available directly to consumers in some areas, as products such as Everclear, Polmos spirytus rektyfikowany, and others. In contrast to very high ABV vodkas such as the Bulgarian Balkan 176° with 88% ABV, these grain alcohol products are not considered vodka; they have not (yet) gone through the filtration and refining process used to produce vodka. A study conducted on NPR's Planet Money podcast revealed negligible differences in taste between various brands of vodka, leading to speculation as to how much branding contributes to the concept of "super-premium vodkas". Distilling and filtering A common property of the vodkas produced in the United States and Europe is the extensive use of filtration before any additional processing including the addition of flavorants. Filtering is sometimes done in the still during distillation, as well as afterward, where the distilled vodka is filtered through activated charcoal and other media to absorb trace amounts of substances that alter or impart off-flavors to the vodka. However, this is not the case in the traditional vodka-producing nations, so many distillers from these countries prefer to use very accurate distillation but minimal filtering, thus preserving the unique flavors and characteristics of their products. The master distiller is in charge of distilling the vodka and directing its filtration, which includes the removal of the "fore-shots", "heads" and "tails". These components of the distillate contain flavor compounds such as ethyl acetate and ethyl lactate (heads) as well as the fusel oils (tails) that impact the usually desired clean taste of vodka. Through numerous rounds of distillation, or the use of a fractioning still, the taste is modified and clarity is increased. In contrast, the distillery process for liquors such as whiskey, rum, and baijiu allow portions of the "heads" and "tails" to remain, giving them their unique flavors. Repeated distillation of vodka will make its ethanol level much higher than is acceptable to most end users, whether legislation determines strength limits or not. Depending on the distillation method and the technique of the still master, the final filtered and distilled vodka may have as much as 95–96% ethanol. For this reason, most vodka is diluted with water before bottling. Flavoring , Poland, where the bison grass vodka "Żubrówka" is produced While most vodkas are unflavored, many flavored vodkas have been produced in traditional vodka-drinking areas, often as home-made recipes to improve vodka's taste or for medicinal purposes. Flavorings include red pepper, ginger, fruit flavors, vanilla, chocolate (without sweetener), and cinnamon. In Russia, vodka flavored with honey and pepper, pertsovka in Russian, is also very popular. In Poland and Belarus, the leaves of the local bison grass are added to produce żubrówka (Polish) and zubrovka (Belarusian) vodka, with slightly sweet flavors and light amber colors. In Lithuania and Poland, a famous vodka containing honey is called krupnik. This tradition of flavoring is also prevalent in the Nordic countries, where vodka seasoned with herbs, fruits, and spices is the appropriate strong drink for several seasonal festivities. Sweden has forty-odd common varieties of herb-flavored vodka (kryddat brännvin). In Poland and Ukraine, a separate category ( in Ukraine and nalewka in Poland) is used for vodka-based spirits with fruit, root, flower, or herb extracts, which are often home-made or produced by small commercial distilleries. Their alcohol contents vary between 15 and 75%. In Estonia, vodkas are available with barberry, blackcurrant, cherry, green apple, lemon, vanilla, and watermelon flavors. In most cases, vodka flavoring comes from a post-distillation infusion of flavors. Through the fermentation process, grain mash is transformed into a neutral alcohol beverage that is unflavored. The process of flavoring vodka so that it tastes like fruits, chocolate, and other foods occurs only after fermentation and distillation. Various chemicals that reproduce the flavor profiles of foods are added into vodka to give it a specific taste. ==Today==

Vodka is less likely than other spirits to produce the undesirable aftereffects of heavy consumption (though no less likely to intoxicate) because of its low level of fusel oils and congeners, which are impurities that flavor spirits. Since the year 2000, because of evolving consumer tastes and regulatory changes, several 'artisanal vodka' or even 'ultra premium vodka' brands have appeared. European Union regulation The success of grape-based vodka in the United States in the early twenty-first century prompted traditional vodka producers in the Vodka Belt countries of Poland, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Sweden to campaign for EU legislation that would define vodka as only spirits made from grain or potatoes. Canadian regulations Under Canadian regulations, vodka is a potable alcoholic distillate obtained from potatoes, cereal grain, or any other material of agricultural origin fermented by the action of yeast or a mixture of yeast and other microorganisms. United States regulations In 1956, it was put into revenue ruling that sugar not more than 0.2% and trace amounts of citric acid are not considered flavoring agent. The meaning of "trace amounts" of citric acid was clarified as not more than 1,000 ppm in 1995. It is no longer defined as "to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color." The law includes other requirements: Vodka cannot be aged in wood; it may or may not be charcoal filtered; and it must meet minimum distillation and bottling proofs. == Boycotts ==

In summer 2013, American LGBT rights activists targeted Russian vodka brands for boycott over Russia's anti-gay policies. In late February 2022, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some North American liquor stores and bars expressed symbolic solidarity with Ukraine, and opposition to Russia, by boycotting Russian vodka brands. One critic argued that boycotts of Russian-branded vodka may inadvertently affect U.S. vodka manufacturers and noted that only 1.2 percent of U.S. vodka imports come from Russia. ==Illegal production==

In some countries, black-market or "bathtub" vodka is widespread because it can be produced easily and avoids taxation. However, severe poisoning, blindness, or death can occur as a result of dangerous industrial ethanol substitutes being added by black-market producers. In March 2007, BBC News in a documentary sought to find the cause of severe jaundice among imbibers of a "bathtub" vodka in Russia. ==Public health effects==

Estimates of the annual death toll resulting from vodka consumption extend up to the thousands in Russia. == Cooking ==

Vodka can also be used in cooking and various recipes are improved by the addition of vodka or rely on it as a key ingredient. Vodka sauce is a pasta sauce made from tomato sauce, cream, and vodka that gained popularity in the 1970s. Vodka can be used in baking as a substitute for water: pie crusts can be made flakier with vodka. It may be used in seafood dishes, cheesecake, or bitters. ==See also==