Alex Corvinus > wrote:

> Um, OK, let's start at the top. Vodka (from wodka, "little water",
> Polish), is merely distilled lmash (of something) into a sort of wine
> and then distilled.

Not just simply distilled, otherwise you could produce vodka at home.
As far as I know, you cannot, not even if you distill it conventionally
a thousand times. The reason is, modern vodka is a result of not mere
distillation, but of rectification, using rectifying columns. The
result of rectification is an almost pure alcohol of at least 96%.

> That said, the better (cleaner) vodkas are made from a variety of
> materials and carry certain congeners that remind you of the material
> of origin, which might be wheat, rye, potato, or some other. Some,
> like the rye-based and potato-based seem to have a sort of
> virtual-sweetness, missing from the wheat vodkas. Some, like that
> Texas Tito gold-topped stuff, boast that they were 3-, 4- or
> 128-times distilled. Or charcoal filtered with charcoal from gnus'
> horns.

I used to believe this, too. Pure alcohol - all modern vodkas are made
with pure alcohol and water - has no congeners to speak of. If vodkas
differ, it is for some other reason, be it water, various and sundry
additions, or the method of filtering (charcoal, gold, milk, etc.).
Since there is really nothing left to filter, the filtering actually
serves some other purpose - and this purpose is poorly defined and
appears to be purely empirical. Filtering with different materials
yields different results. According to Rodionov, whom I mentioned
upthread, the original P. A. Smirnoff vodka produced during the early
not-yet-monopoly days just after the introduction of *modern* vodka,
used to be a lot more popular than vodka produced by the state, even
though the ethanol produced by the state was considered to be of an even
higher grade. It was found that Smirnoff filtered his vodka with an
enormous amount of charcoal, the only filtering material legally
allowed. This resulted in some additions of potash, something that
would have been illegal if added by itself.

If you want something made with clear grain alcohol that reminds you of
the material of origin, consider German Korn or Kornbrand (also called
Doppelkorn or Edelkorn). The latter is virtually of vodka strength (at
least 38% by volume). Most is made with rye or wheat. It is simply
distilled, not rectified. I suspect - but only suspect - that this
might be close to what old vodka - the one produced before 1895, both in
Russia and Poland - was actually like, at least in a very general way.

> I personally, being a tightfisted old fart, stay with Polish potato
> vodkas. Great value. Good for sipping and cheap enough for mixing.
> Popular brands include Luksusova and Monopolova (sp?).

Try the Polish Siwucha (literally fusel or moonshine). It is produced
by the Luksusova people and has a nominal amount of fusel oil added (so
that they can justify the name). By the way, fusel oil, far from being
the stuff of nightmares, is one of the major reasons why such liquors as
whisky or Cognac - and Korn, too - actually taste of something. All
such liquors are distilled, usually just twice or thrice - but not
rectified. To my knowledge, vodka is the only liquor made by simply
mixing rectified spirit with water.

And, face it - there may be "good" modern vodkas, but there is no such
thing as a tasty one. The "tastiest" vodka is the least repulsive one.

Victor