Vodka
Vodka
Background Introduction
Vodka remains one of the most consumed alcoholic drinks in the world despite undergoing multiple reinventions. The drink is distilled from vegetables or grain mash fermentation. From the high proof fermentation, the alcohol content is measured. A half percentage of alcohol can be measured by a single proof degree. From these metrics, percentages of alcohol content in a bottle can then be established. For example, 100 level proof has 50% alcohol, 90% proof has 45% alcohol, and the rest follows proportionally. Distilled vodka sometimes reaches proof of up to 145 high. At such levels, vodka is a neutral spirit. Water can be used to reduce the proof levels from high concentrations to lows of below 100 and over 80. The reason this is done is to restore the taste and odor, which is eliminated at the high levels of 145. The production of Vodka has undergone radical revolutions, but its fundamental nature and consumers’ affinity to the drink has remained unchanged.
Tracing the origin of Vodka, a pattern of innovative changes can be observed. The changes have been primarily aimed at improving the purity and quality of the drink. As much as individuals and commercial entities have tweaked the distillation, an international ‘taste’ identity stubbornly persists. Vodka distillation can be traced back pre-10thcentury period. Arabian alchemist, Albukassen, and Majorcan Ramon Llull wrote accounts on the same. Traditionally, vodka was made from the ancient fermentation process. Fruits, grains, sugars and select herbs were left to ferment. In that process, a chemical reaction in the organic matter would lead to the final product formed. Yeast, mold, and bacteria would act on the organic matter leading to a change in the chemical composition. Specifically, the sugars were acted upon by the yeast enzymes. The catalysts of dextrose and maltose sugar would result in ethyl alcohol conversion in the mash. The final product was a drink that could cause intoxication when consumed in considerable amounts.
Further Distillation Developments
What is interesting is that most of the changes and development in vodka production were majored in distillation. The drive can be explained by the need for higher purity by the consumers and distilling party. The unintended consequence was improving the quality, intoxication power and popularity of vodka beyond their imaginations. Later alchemists, scientists and curious ambitious persons started experimenting with distillation. The process involved the heating and condensing of the liquids already fermented. From the heating and condensing, the drink would be rid of gas and vapor. Devoid of the vapor and gas, the new product formed became what we have come to know as spirits and vodka. The same process could be applied to solid matter too. The spirits distilled (ardent) later came to the public domain and shared consumption in Poland and Russian. Although conflict still exists as to where the process emerged from, it was definitely from either of the two countries.
Understandably, Russia has been credit by the majority of anthropologists and historians as the origin of spirit distillation. The fact should not however be interpreted to mean they solely contributed to the drinks popularity and success. What remains a common and agreed upon fact is that the consumption of Vodka was an Eastern and Northern Europe invention. From the fourth century, records show that there were existence and drinking of alcohol of vodka type. The drinks described in such documentation are described as having no aroma or flavor. The description fits the bill of Vodka most suitably.
The Vodka Revolution and Innovations
Pasture recommended that heat could be used as a form of hygiene and purity to eliminate the bacterial. With time, the idea was applied by vodka distillers in multiple distillations. By engaging in multiple distillations, a spirit of higher proof was produced with greater purity. Other researchers such as Robert Stein led to the application of the continuous still process. Under the repeated steam and alcohol recycling, spirit extraction was increased greatly. Modern distillation of vodka has sustained the process by having three levels of distillation. As much as the changes have come about, the end product has not changed much in signature purity and fiery spirit.
International Market and Reception
The Bethel-based distillery performed poorly, and the Russian Immigrant sold it to Heublein Company. When the new owners purchased it in 1939, the distillery was not producing more than 20 cases every day. By 1954, the company was recording sales of more than a million cases sold in the United States a year. Weigand documents that by 1955, an approximate 5 million cases sale was recorded. In the following twenty years, Vodka sales in America had surpassed gin and whiskey. By the end of 20thcentury, vodka had a 25% market share of the distilled spirits.
What can be accredited to the meteoritic rise of vodka is not unanimously proclaimed. What can, however, be acknowledged in this study is that Heublein Company is primarily responsible for the prevalence. After the purchase from Kunnit, the executive of the company, John Martin, innovated a new vodka recipe. He made a vodka ginger beer cocktail prepared with lime. The new drink becomes a hit in California and later in New York before exploding in America. From the American market share burst, vodka spread globally. Explores, soldiers, traders and visitors pretty much did the footwork in places such as Africa.
Vodka Today
Today, vodka has the status of Russia’s national drink. Even in modern Russia, the drink has continued to evolve as distillers reinvent and innovate on new experiments. In the 90’s, distillers had to follow a central recipe which was mandated. The status quo changed with the coming of the free market installation. Recipes and ingredients became varied as each distiller made their brand. The focus was however not much based on altering the drink but satisfying the newfound market. The Soviet was stabilizing, and the people were demanding luxury and recreation goods more. So successful the vodka business was at this time that one Vodka businessman, Tariko, opened a bank named after a vodka brand. Other brands, Smirnoff and Stolichnaya continued to have success with best-selling records globally. The popularity has seen even flavored vodka drinks introduced. However, the Russians have not taken much to this new trend.
Impact of the Trends
The trend today is in the creation of premium brands which are highly priced. The pricey vodkas are concentrated in the Moscow and St. Petersburg. Some of these brands include Etalon, G8, Putinka Limited Edition, Flagman Night Landing and Russian Standard Imperia. Other less common (relatively pricey) are Parliament, Beluga, Belaya Zolota and Rusky Brilliant. The affluence and social life investment enthusiasm can explain the convergence. What has however remained is the firewater nature of the drink.
Vodka and the Form Resilience
For a long time and centuries to come, the drink remained confined largely to Eastern and Northern Europe. Later, as people traveled and communicated more, the prevalence increased. Vodka, therefore, spread to other countries in Northern and Eastern Europe from the late 1930s. Such evidence can be found in later day publications by British explorers and adventurists. Around 1930, one such literature in the form of vodka recipe emerged. The British had included new inventions in the making of the vodka drink. It is perhaps here that the drink started going through a revolution.
As explained by Kravets, the adventurous British cookbook ‘Savoy Cocktail Book’ provided a Cointreau and vegetables as part of the new drink. In their recipe, the blue vegetable juice was mixed with Cointreau to make a new version of vodka. The new drink was named ‘Blue Monday’. Later cocktail versions neutralized the spirit with crème de cacao mixed and dry gin. With time, the practice picked up in Europe and America. People and establishments started making their recipes. The recipes varied from factors of environmental, social, geography and personal preferences.
In summation, new connotations, experiments, and vodka cocktails have been made. All these have not however eliminated the identity of vodka. Identify of fine, light and pure ethyl drink has been sustained overtime. If one could sterilize a brawl bar wound with the vodka in 1901, one can also do the same today. The other nature of vodka that has remained unchanged is the difference of purity between vodka and other drinks. Water and alcohol purity have always been high. Basic ingredients of grain and spirits have also been the same. Finally, as much as the adventurous alchemists and cocktail mixers innovate, they and the end consumers agree on how vodka should be. Limited color, taste, and smell or odor define the purity of vodka.
Bibliography
Tseng, Shian-Shyong and Shun-Chieh Lin. 2009. "VODKA: Variant Objects Discovering Knowledge Acquisition". Expert Systems with Applications 36 (2): 2433-2450. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2007.12.055.
Kravets, O. 2012. "Russia's "Pure Spirit": Vodka Branding and Its Politics". Journal of Macromarketing 32 (4): 361-376. Doi:10.1177/0276146712449627.
Weigand, Robert E. 2011. "Beyond Vodka Reciprocity in International Business". JABR 1 (1): 64. doi:10.19030/jabr.v1i1.6596.
