Image via Complex Original
Transparency: Though you can see right through a glass of vodka, you aren't getting the complete picture. While consumers aren't surprised by the seriousness of conversation around scotch or bourbon, scores of drinkers don't give much thought to vodka. Either the spirit is expensive and inoffensive, or cheap and no different from rubbing alcohol.
But let Claire Smith, Head of Spirit Creation and Mixology at Belvedere, tell it and a much more complex story unfolds. Here are 10 Things Every Guy Should Know About Vodka.
What Are Some American Misconceptions About Vodka?
"In the U.S., vodka is thought of as being without distinctive taste, aroma, or character. Which is very far away from the realities of vodkas that come from the birthplace of the spirit: Poland. Think about the bread that you might have in the morning for your toast, say at a bad diner, that plain white bread—that represents, stereotypically, the Western approach to distilling vodka. You use a light, flavorless raw material that you don't get much out of. It's the opposite in Europe."
How Is Vodka Different in Europe?
"Vodkas coming from Europe tend to be full of flavor, have lovely aromas, and are texturally very different from American vodkas. At Belvedere, based in Poland, we distill from rye. Think of rye bread: dense, nutty, oily, heavy—that's essentially what you get when you distill a spirit from that grain.
"Vodka shouldn't be thought of as tasteless. A good vodka should be full of flavor, aroma, and have a soft mouth feel. All of that is a result of the quality of the ingredients you distill from. The spirit should retain some of the personality of the raw material."
What's The Deal With Distilling Vodka So Many Times?
"A lot of distillers will tell you that the more times you distill the spirit, the better it is. That is a lie. Don't pick a vodka because it's been distilled hundreds of times. If a vodka has been distilled hundreds of times, it's because the raw materials it's been distilled from are crap. Find a spirit that's been distilled the appropriate number of times.
"At Belvedere, we distill four times. We're distilling rye, which can be quite spicy and bold. So, in order to appeal to a Western palate that hasn't grown up drinking vodka, we have to be sensitive to the liveliness of rye, meaning four distillations. To bring a sense of elegant restraint to the grain, four is the optimal number."
How Can I Spot a Bad Vodka?
"Bad vodka is almost a bit embarrassed to be on your palate. You can feel it trying to slink away, slightly embarrassed and apologetic. It feels thin—you swallow it, you forget it. A lot of distillers can and will use sugar and glycerin to enhance the texture, or to improve the sensation of the spirit, or the smell or taste of the spirit. But that makes for a bad vodka, a spirit with no credibility."
What Makes Wheat Vodka Different?
"Wheat vodkas tend to be very light, and will have notes of fresh citrus. Because wheat is a delicate grain, wheat vodkas need less distilling. I find that any wheat vodka that's distilled more than three times is a waste of time. In general, wheat makes for a very approachable sort of vodka, a good all-rounder, very crisp and clean."
What Makes a Potato Vodka Different?
"Potato, so dense and heavy, is the complete opposite of wheat. A potato vodka is very much about texture. Think about mashed potatoes, the feel of potatoes in the mouth. A good potato vodka will be very voluptuous, very full. However, potato is notoriously difficult to use as a base ingredient because it releases quite a lot of impurities during the distillation process. Good potato vodka is hard to come by, but if you find one, it's a treasure."
[Ed. Note—Tito's, based in Austin, Texas, is a very smooth potato vodka.]
How Do I Talk About Vodka?
"The only thing that vodka can really own is texture, because the subtleties of the aroma and the subtleties of the characteristics in the grain are only enjoyed by people who drink vodka neat all the time. So, newcomers to vodka will want to think and talk about texture. Is the vodka thick, weighty, oily, viscous? Or is it thin, light, astringent, prickly, hot?
"A great vodka will move voluptuously over the palate. It shouldn't attack the palate, or cause you pain, or be prickly. It should really be like a bourbon, where you have that lovely sort of warmth, the weight of the spirit in the mouth."
Should You Freeze Vodka?
"When we educate at tastings, we taste at room temperature. The textural differences are present. However, the second you start to chill a vodka, texture becomes even more important. The flavor and the personality of the raw material become more subdued, but texture moves in the opposite direction. The spirit becomes more viscous, richer. It coats the mouth. But there is a tipping point; when you freeze vodka, you being to lose everything. Find a sweet spot—at Belvedere, that's around 48 degrees Fahrenheit—then you'll have the cold, the weight, the viscosity, but still have the lovely characteristic of the grain coming through."
Flavored Vodkas: Friend or Foe?
"Flavored vodka has a bad rap, and I don't think a lot of the newer flavors are doing anything to persuade consumers otherwise. About 95 percent of the world's flavored vodkas use aroma chemicals, or synthetic flavor additives, or mellowing agents. Most flavored vodkas use a cold compound process, which means the distillery purchases a flavor from a flavor account and adds it to your vodka. Then, presto! Like magic, you have whipped cream vodka. Unfortunately, it doen't taste magic. It tastes wholly unnatural.
"This reputation that flavored vodka is less noble than real vodka is something we're fighting against at Belvedere, where we use only real, fresh ingredients. For instance, our lemon tea expression uses real black tea, green tea, chamomile tea, lemon grass, lemon, and ginger."
How Should I Make Drinks with Vodka?
"Vodkas with character already have a rich and beautiful mouth feel, texture, and weight to them, so by just adding a couple ingredients you can make a great drink without having to work too hard. Treat it like cooking—you don't want to start with shoddy ingredients. A lot of journalists actually say, 'Oh, you can do anything with vodka, it's the most forgiving spirit.' That's not necessarily incorrect, but to get the best out of the spirit, you should do very little. Add a splash of tonic, some freshly squeezed lime juice, and that's it."
