SPIRITS The vodka reinvention
The character of quality vodka takes it where other spirits can’t go, says Richard Woodard
Back in 1939, when a little-known vodka called Smirnoff was first sold in the US, it used a memorable – if technically incorrect – strapline: ‘Smirnoff white whiskey: no smell, no taste’. Given that the brand now sells roughly 25m cases a year around the world, the approach seems to have worked.
To most people, blank neutrality epitomises vodka. It is the chameleon of spirits, an efficient and malleable alcohol delivery system that takes on whatever flavours you throw at it in any number of cocktails or mixed drinks. Until recently in the US, its characterless character was even enshrined in law. By definition, vodka had to be ‘without distinctive character, aroma, taste or colour’.
But there’s always been a part of the vodka world that eschews the dismissive notion that all vodkas taste the same because they don’t taste of anything. Russians and Poles would find the idea laughable – and now increasing numbers of people in the western world would agree.
GRAIN OF TRUTH
‘You know, I think we are in a golden age for vodka drinkers and connoisseurs,’ says Chico Rosa, master distiller at The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD), one of the countless craft operators to have sprung up around the world in recent years. ‘There is more and more emphasis on terroir and flavour in vodka.’
Terroir? In vodka? Really? But when TOAD started making vodka three years ago, it sourced rye grain grown in sandy soils near Oxford, in central southern England; more recently, it switched to rye from clay soils. ‘Now that is something very different,’ says Rosa. ‘It still has the same kind of flavour profile, but the character is definitely not as silky.’
TOAD’s Oxford Rye Organic Vodka happens to use the same raw ingredients (rye, wheat and barley) as Dima’s Vodka from Ukraine – but the two liquids have highly contrasting styles. Where Oxford Rye is rich and round, full of cocoa bean and dark chocolate, Dima’s is fresher, zestier, but with rye’s peppery edge. ‘Flavourful but smooth was our overarching aim,’ explains founder Dima Deinega, Ukraine-born, but resident in the UK since the age of five. ‘It took us 38 tries to get it right, because we wanted something that was more refined and complex.’
Like TOAD, Dima’s makes great play of its raw ingredients and origins – grains grown in the ultra-fertile black Ukrainian soil called ‘chernozem’, so prized that it is sold by the truckload on the black market.
For Deinega, the wheat brings creaminess, rye spice and barley sweetness, but flavour isn’t his sole concern. ‘What gives spirits flavour?’
he asks rhetorically. ‘Certain impurities. But I still wanted it to be very smooth. I think that’s the challenge with vodka: maintaining its identity, but also adapting and modernising.’
FLAVOUR SAVERS
Preserving flavour when making vodka is damned tricky. When you distil something to above 95% alcohol by volume, you’re eliminating almost all of the impurities that give spirits like whisky so much of their character.
‘With modern distillation technology it is not difficult to strip away all the character of the base material and leave only alcohol and water to create a neutral vodka,’ says Mike Foster, global brand ambassador for Belvedere. ‘Our distillers are hugely experienced in managing the slow fermentation and the four-column distillation process to ensure we create and retain all the congeners we need, and remove the ones we don’t.’
That’s vital if, like Belvedere, your ultimate aim is to showcase the dimensions and nuances of flavour present in your raw ingredients – in this case, Polish single-estate Diamond Dankowskie rye. Similarly, Dima’s uses the expertise of the 125-year-old Zhytomyr distillery in Ukraine, while TOAD’s bespoke stills and gentle, whole-grain production process have a laser focus on keeping flavour in. ‘Terroir in a spirit is not only the base, or where the base was grown, but also the still and the people who worked with the ingredients, and the distillers,’ says Rosa.
CONNAUGHT CLASSIC
Let’s not go crazy here: this is still vodka, after all, and the flavour variations remain nuanced and subtle compared to a gin or a single malt. ‘But if you train your palate and keep tasting, tasting, tasting, you can feel the difference between one vodka and another,’ says Ago Perrone, director of mixology at The Connaught Bar in London’s Mayfair. ‘It might take longer than for Scotch whisky or bourbon, but with vodka there is a real sense of discovery.’
For Perrone, you have to start with neat vodka, which should be served at room temperature. ‘Smell it, taste it, feel the texture,’ he says. The texture – that underrated aspect of any fine spirit – is especially important.
‘The Martini [cocktail] is really a hero serve to allow the palate to enjoy all the flavours that vodka has, but you want a vodka that can really hold the dilution,’ Perrone explains. ‘If it gets too watery, you can lose the flavour. Texture is key, because texture allows the flavours to stick on the palate – just think of full-bodied versus light-bodied wines.’
In a gin-obsessed world, the right vodka can offer an understated counterpoint, especially if you’re a Martini fan. ‘Vodka is gentle and elegant, and is perfect when the palate doesn’t want too many competing flavours,’ says Perrone. ‘Vodka creates flavours that other spirits just can’t.’
No smell, no taste? No chance. ▶
‘Vodka creates flavours that other spirits just can’t’
--------------------------- Ago Perrone (above)
Belvedere Smogóry Forest Single Estate Rye Vodka
£39.85-£56/70cl Widely available
One of Belvedere’s two single estate vodkas, this hails from a village in western Poland surrounded by vast forests. Long summers make for a much more robust and forward style, with plenty of spice and pep. A sipper that’s also good for stronger, stirred-down cocktail creations. Alc 40%
Belvedere Lake Bartężek Single Estate Rye Vodka
£39.85-£56/70cl Widely available
Poland’s Belvedere has taken provenance to a new level with its single estate expressions. Made from rye grown in the Masurian Lake District, this is an elegant, crisp and precise vodka, with a grassy undertone and a hint of menthol. Perfect Martini material. Alcohol 40%
Dima’s Vodka
£35/70cl dimasvodka.com
A Ukrainian mix of rye, wheat and barley brings a creamy, silky texture and a grassy, balanced style with bright, vanilla-accented fruit and some gentle spice and pepper. Good with cheese and charcuterie or, in true Ukrainian style, a selection of pickles. The local toast? ‘Budmo!’ 40%
Konik’s Tail Vodka
£31.64-£44.95/70cl Widely available
Ago Perrone has been serving this Polish vodka at The Connaught Bar in London for 12 years, and is a big fan. It combines the spiciness of rye with the creamy texture of wheat, plus – unusually – spelt, which brings a bready character. Complexity and balance make this a versatile cocktail base, but it’s also great neat or on the rocks. Alc 40%
The Oxford Artisan Distillery Oxford Rye Organic Vodka
£30.99-£39.99/70cl 31Dover, Amathus Drinks, Corks of North Street, Hedonism, Hook Norton Brewery, Master of Malt, The Drink Shop, The Oxford Wine Co Chocolate! This rye-heavy spirit (with wheat and barley) has an alluring nose of cocoa bean and dark chocolate, while gentle handling at the distillery keeps a bright, fruity note and the herbal undertone of rye. Rounded and silky – and absolutely brimming with character. Alc 40%
VKA Organic Vodka
£42.95-£45/70cl Hedonism, Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange
Hailing from the Mugello region of northern Tuscany, VKA uses organic wheat to deliver a mineral-accented, softly sweet distillate with just a whisper of pine resin. It’s clean and pin-sharp on the finish, making it a great, toned-down aquavit substitute when served alongside raw fish and crustaceans. Alc 40% D