Vodka: 3 Questions About The Spirit, Answered By An Expert

TOWARDS the end of Ian Fleming’s spy novel “Dr. No,” James Bond orders a vodka dry martini – “Shaken and not stirred please.” The novel was published in 1958, at the height of the Cold War. But four decades before the Berlin Wall would crumble, vodka had already bridged the East-West divide. In addition to the martini, it’s become the base spirit in popular cocktails like the Cosmopolitan, the Moscow Mule and the Vodka Red Bull.

With Vodka Day taking place on October 4, here are answers to a few questions about the spirit.

You might think that all vodka is distilled from potatoes, but only a handful of today’s brands use the root vegetable.

Russia and Poland each claim to the be the birthplace of vodka, which is a Slavonic diminutive term meaning “little water.” There are mentions of vodka in Polish records as early as 1500, but the drink was probably around for at least 300 years prior – maybe even longer.

Potatoes, however, weren’t brought from South America to Europe until the 1570s. And before 1700, it’s unlikely that they were grown in quantities large enough in Poland or Russia to sustain any sort of commercial enterprise.

Instead, vodka was originally a grain distillate, with rye as the primary constituent. This makes sense: Rye grows better than other grains in the cool, damp climates of northern Eurasia.

While some vodka is made from potatoes, most vodkas are made from whatever grain the distiller prefers to use, with sorghum, rye, wheat and corn leading the pack. Grapes, plums and sugar cane are even used by some brands.

2. Why is some vodka so expensive?

A 750 ml bottle of Crystal Head vodka retails for around Rs 11,000 in India, while a bottle of similar quantity of Romanoff goes for roughly Rs 650. But the cheapest vodka should taste just like the most expensive one – at least in theory. According to the US Federal Standard of Identity, in order for a spirit to be marketed as “vodka,” “it must be odorless, colourless and tasteless.”

Every vodka does have its own mashbill, which is the word for its own recipe. What’s in the mashbill can create minor differences in the flavour of finished vodka.

Whether a grain or fruit is used to make the vodka, each has a number of flavouring ingredients known as “congeners” that give the final product its unique taste.

The primary flavour, however, is ethanol, which has a taste that evokes the smell of rubbing alcohol. Many would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between different brands of vodka in a blindfold test.

In fact, a taste test conducted for The New York Times by journalist Eric Asimov and a group of vodka experts concluded that America’s old favourite, Smirnoff vodka, retailing at under $15 a bottle, beat out all the fancy high-priced brands for flavor and value.

There are two real reasons that some vodkas cost so much more than others. First, some brands spend a small fortune on marketing and celebrity endorsements – think Ciroc and its $100 million endorsement deal with Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Other brands, like Grey Goose or Hangar One, simply sell their vodka at a high price point to make their brand seem luxurious and exclusive.

3. Is there really vodka in that dish of pasta?

If you see “penne alla vodka” on the menu, there is, in fact, actual vodka in the sauce. Most recipes use around a quarter of a cup.

While vodka was probably first added to a creamy pasta sauce for promotional or novelty purposes, some cooks claim that the vodka helps stabilise the cream and tomato mixture and that the alcohol helps extract flavours from the tomatoes and herbs.

Vodka can be used in other courses as well. A vodka-watermelon sorbet is an excellent intermezzo, or palate cleanser, while the authoritative Cook’s Illustrated recommends using some vodka when making pie crust, since it adds moisture without activating as much gluten, keeping the pie crust tender and flaky.

Whatever the logic, a dish with a dash of vodka – accompanied by a vodka dry martini, of course – might be the best way to celebrate Vodka Day!

Jeffrey Miller is associate professor, Hospitality Management, Colorado State University. This article originally appeared on The Conversation, and has been republished here under the Creative Commons Licence.