2018Q1SpiritedVirginia - 31

HISTORY: THANK THE
EASTERN EUROPEANS

The exact history of vodka is
as little fuzzy. Vodka may have
come from Poland, though some
say Russia-from Eastern Europe,
in any case. The word "vodka"
may be Slavic for "little water," or
perhaps Russian for "bread wine"
(nope, it wasn't originally distilled
from potatoes). The first recorded
exports of Russian vodka came in
1505, from Poland a century later.
Big-batch vodka pioneer
Piotr Arseneevich (P.A.) Smirnov
founded the Smirnoff brand of
vodka in Russia in 1864. In 1886,
he received the Tsar's special
designation as Purveyor of the
Imperial Court. The royal privilege
lost its luster when the Bolsheviks
came to power, the distillery
was shuttered and the family
fled town. P.A.'s son, Vladimir,
eventually settled in France and
revived the Smirnoff business.
The common association
of vodka with potatoes has a
shady past, like the back story
of a mysterious Russian spy. The
original distilled liquor could not
possibly have been made from
potatoes, because the tuber
didn't come to Europe till the 16th
century, imported by the Spanish
conquistadores from Peru. When
potatoes were a dime a dozen
(speaking metaphorically, of
course), they were a logical choice
for distillers-until grain became
more economical choice.
Imported liquors began
infiltrating American bars in the
20th century. Russian vodka
seeped in, too, especially in big
industrial cities where immigrants
gathered.
-AT

breads and pastries-and distilled
in France. This best-selling
vodka is transported to Cognac,
France, for filtration, and blended
with spring water that has been
filtered through limestone from
Champagne. Ooh-la-la!
Ketel One, made with
European wheat, is distilled using
a combination of modern and
traditional techniques. The spirit
is produced in the Netherlands at
Nolet Distillery, which has been in
the Nolet family since 1691.
The story of the Swedish
vodka, Absolut, reaches back to
a distillery established in 1879
in Åhus, Sweden. One hundred
years later, 1979, the brand was
introduced to the world market.
The winter wheat used in Absolut
is grown with minimal fertilizers
and the water comes from a deep,
pure Swedish well.

CORN

The story of Tito's Handmade
Vodka combines boot-strapping,
creativity, dedication and
engineering. Tito Beveridge,
a pioneer in American craft
distilling, had to figure out how to
make small batch liquor entirely
on his own. And he did. The
Austin, Texas vodka is distilled
six times, using an old-fashioned
pot still. "We've kept the
whole handmade process," says
Beveridge. "We do the same thing
with a 16-gallon still that we do
with a 650-gallon still."
Made with corn from south
Texas, Deep Eddy Vodka claims
water, distillation and filtration
as its points of pride: the finest
water in Texas; column-distilled
ten times in a temperature-perfect
environment; and charcoal filtered
four times.
The Crystal Head brand was
created by Canadian comedian
Dan Aykroyd, made with sweet
peaches-and-cream corn,

quadruple-distilled and blended
with pristine water from
Newfoundland, Canada. It's
filtered four times, then three
more times through layers of
quartz crystals called Herkimer
diamonds-known not just for
clarity but also for amplifying
spiritual energy. Far out!
Deep Run Vodka comes from
Virginia's granddaddy distillery, A.
Smith Bowman in Fredericksburg.
It's made with 100 percent corn,
distilled seven times, handcrafted
in small batches and bottled by
hand. The spirit won a Double
Gold at the 2017 San Francisco
World Spirits Competition.
Unlike most flavored vodkas,
which present their neutral
alcohol plus flavors, Dr. Stoner's
Fresh Herb Vodka comes only
with natural flavor additions.
The base spirit is made from
100 percent corn, distilled at
Chesapeake Bay Distillery in
Virginia Beach. All-natural flavor
additions use herbs such as basil,
hops, lemongrass, rosemary and
coffee-leaf extracts. Dr. Craig
Stoner says the result is unlike any
other product in its class.
Belmont Farms in Culpeper,
Virginia, does more than just
distill-it raises the grains used in
its spirits. Kopper Kettle Vodka
is made from 100 percent corn,
all grown and processed right on
the farm, for a true grain-to-glass
vodka.
The name proclaims the mission:
Spirits of the Blue Ridge Vodka
is produced by Chesapeake Bay
Distillery, which highlights the
of use of "local harvest." For the
vodka, this includes water from
the Blue Ridge Mountains as well
as distillates of corn.
Beach Vodka is distilled from
corn but uses an unusual filtering
material, one made with coconut
husks. This natural filtering

SPIRITED VIRGINIA | JANUARY | FEBRUARY | MARCH 2018 31
2018Q1SpiritedVirginia

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