Some say that any agricultural produce should be allowed, others argue that real vodka is made only from grain or potatoes.
Finland, which favours the tighter definition, hopes to resolve the question before the end of its six-month EU presidency in December.
What, in practice, is vodka made of?
Different countries make it in different ways. Wheat is most popular in Russia and Sweden, barley in Finland, rye and potato in Poland. It is also made from sugar beet molasses and fruit, including grapes, in some countries.
In principle a clear "white" spirit can be distilled from anything that ferments. It is reported that coal was used in Communist Poland, but that efforts to use chickens were unsuccessful. A by-product of the wood-pulp industry was once used in Sweden.
Where does vodka come from?
The word "vodka" is derived from "voda", which means water in Russian and Polish. The use of vodka as a flavourless mixer in cocktails is a fashion which began in the US, and took off in Western Europe after World War II.
Who drinks it?
More and more of us. The UK's Gin and Vodka Association says vodka has overtaken whisky as the biggest-selling spirit in the UK. The vodka market is also growing rapidly in Germany and southern Europe, and is huge in the US.
It has a very large, but declining, share of the spirits market in Sweden and Poland.
Who would be worst affected if drinks made from sugar beet or fruit could no longer be labelled vodka?
One estimate doing the rounds says that two-thirds of EU production outside the Baltic region would be eliminated. About one-third of the UK's output would be in trouble, mainly supermarket own-label vodka and other budget brands made from sugar beet.
According to the European Vodka Alliance, which is fighting against the Finnish/Polish proposal, 90% of Czech vodka and three-quarters of German vodka would lose the right to call itself vodka.
Southern European countries which make grape-based vodkas would also be disadvantaged.
Do vodkas made from different raw materials taste different?
It depends on the method of distillation. Some vodkas are distilled in such a way that the flavour of the raw material completely disappears. But the tendency in Poland and the Nordic countries is to preserve some of the taste produced by the raw material.
It takes a very experienced vodka drinker, however, to identify the flavour of rye, wheat, potato etc.
How is the European Commission proposing to define vodka?
Like this: "Vodka is a spirit drink produced from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin."
It goes on to say that it is "distilled and/or rectified so that the organoleptic characteristics of the raw materials used and by-products formed in fermentation are selectively reduced".
The minimum strength is 37.5%.
How long has vodka been around?
In Russia and Poland it has been around for hundreds of years. Smirnoff left Russia after the revolution and began production in the US after the end of prohibition. The company first made vodka in the UK in 1952.
The first spirits branded as vodka in Nordic countries went on sale in the 1970s.
Do people really drink it neat?
It is still drunk neat with dinner in Russia and some other parts of Eastern Europe: someone pronounces a toast and everyone downs their glass of vodka in one.
The same also happens at celebratory meals in Central and Northern Europe - at weddings for example - though there is an increasing tendency among the young to drink it with mixers and in cocktails, as in Western Europe and the US.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário