Vodka's journey from Russia to bars worldwide
Little Water
When it comes to vodka, it might seem that the consumer is more concerned with brand image than anything else but the clear, unaged spirit has a rich history. By Maryke Visagie.
It is customary to gulp, not sip, the clear liquid. The best kind is filtered over birch charcoal and its name is derived from a term meaning "little water" in Russian. If you want one, you need only tap the side of your chin. Nowhere in history had a drink the same power as vodka to warm the soul of a nation and to bring down statesmen. Indeed, the famous 1920s dancer Isadora Duncan once remarked: "I would rather live in Russia on black bread and vodka, than in the United States at the best hotels."
As with a lot of today's vices, including cocaine, vodka started out as a medicine. A certain Arabian doctor Pares distilled the vodka-type alcohol in 860 and in Europe it has its roots in the Italian alchemy of the 11th century, where a monk-alchemist named Valentius, while looking for the elixir-stone, distilled the wine's essence, or soul (spiritus), as it were thought. But what is vodka? Theoretically it is a distillation of spirit, consisting of water and ethanol.
For centuries it was made only with rye, but later, in times of economic difficulties people distilled absolutely anything, wheat, buckwheat, even potatoes.
A CURE FOR ALL ILLS - VODKA'S MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Nikolai Gogol, Russian novelist and dramatist, wrote in the short story Old World Landowners:
Pulkheria Ivanovna was most entertaining when she led her guests to the zakuska table. "Now this," she would say, removing the stopper from a flask, "is vodka infused with St John's Wort and sage. If the small of your back or your shoulder blade aches, it really hits the spot. This vodka over here is made with centaury. If you've got a ringing in your ears or shingles on your face, it's just the thing. And this one's distilled from peach pits here, take a glass, what a wonderful smell! If you've bumped your head against the corner of a cupboard or the table when getting out of bed, and a lump's sprung up on your forehead, then all you have to do is drink a glassful before dinner. The minute you take your hand away, the lump will disappear, as if it had never been there at all."
Translated by Darra Goldstein, in A Taste of Russia. Russian Life Books.
Genoan merchants brought the clear drink, by this time known as aqua vitae, or the "water of life" to Russia in the 1300s, where is was distilled from rye, wheat and barley. Vodka was also made from sweet syrups, especially for women, or infused with flavours such as spices, cinnamon, St John's Wort, amber, salpetre and fruit.
And the Russians drank it all day long. It was Ivan the Terrible (Tsar Ivan IV) who gave permission for the opening of Moscow's first tavern (kabak) for his palace guard, in 1533. In 1755, Catherine the Great allowed noblemen to produce and sell vodka free of duty, depending on their titles and merits. According to Stephen White in his book Russia Goes Dry. Catherine, perhaps in a moment of unguarded honesty, remarked: "a drunken people is easier to rule". Because the Russian people's capacity for this odourless, warming drink is astonishing and, in the 1800s, up to 40% of all state revenue came from alcohol duties.
Government removed the state monopoly on vodka production for a brief stint of 33 years in the mid-1800s, but long enough for the likes of Pierre Smirnoff , or Piotr Arseneevich Smirnov, to become very rich. He founded his distillery in 1864 and he is credited of contributing to the charcoal filtration method.
Vodka eventually spread world-wide and in the mid-1900s, the glamorous Cosmopolitain with berries Hollywood era, it grabbed the attention of cocktail creators, forming the basis of such drinks as the tomato juice-based Bloody Mary, or the Moscow Mule, at the time a high fashion drink of vodka, ginger beer and lime, invented at the Cock'n'Bull restaurant in Hollywood.
ICON VODKAS
Although Russia, Poland and
Scandinavia will forever be the home
of vodka, excellent versions of the
drink are now distilled all over the
globe.
Absolut - Sweden
Belvedere - Poland
Cîroc - France
Cristall - Russia
Finlandia - Finland
Grey Goose - France
Hangar 1 - USA
Ketel 1 - e Netherlands
Pravda - Poland
Russian standard - Russia
SKYY - USA
Smirnoff - USA
Stolichnaya - Russia
Aquavits
Aquavits are flavoured Scandinavian
vodkas, distilled from grain or
potatoes and flavoured with herbs and
berries. It was created as a digestif and
named aquavit, the same as the aqua
vitae (water of life) that spread across
the world.
In the 1800s the flavouring of
aquavits was a gentleman's pastime
and one would have found private
recipe blends in sherry casks in the
cellars of large manors, flavoured with
combinations of caraway, rowanberries,
elderberries, fennel, aniseed,
lemon and orange.
This is a hobby that has found renewed
favour in modern times, with people
making their personal schnapps. It's
easy to do, and your flavoured vodka
should be ready in a couple of days.
Try adding sage, cherries, or blackcurrants
to a bottle of vodka for your own
aquavit.
Vodka as a cocktail mixer
As the connoisseur in you might be interested to know, the best way to drink
vodka is still straight out of the fridge, followed by toast with caviar, a pickle
or an onion. It's also the perfect mix to create a fruity, flavoursome cocktail, as
it adds the warmth of alcohol without an overshadowing taste. Here are a few
classics:
Vodka Tonic
1 shot vodka
Tonic water
Stir, then garnish with a lime wedge.
Screwdriver
2 parts vodka
5 parts orange juice
Combine in a collins glass with ice and stir well.
Cosmopolitan
30ml vodka
15ml Cointreau
8ml fresh lime juice
30ml cranberry juice
Ice
Lime peel for garnish
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, strain into a chilled Martini
glass and garnish with a lime peel.
