The history of vodka is believed to be started in either Russia or Poland, with some accounts saying that in the
8th century, Poland was the first to create the famous spirit, while others say that in the ninth century,
Russia invented the spirit. The first written mention of vodka was in a Russian newspaper the Vyatka Chronicle
mentioning the first distillery to make the drink in khylnovsk. During this time vodka wasnt used primarily as a
drink but as a medical remedy of dubious nature due to the low alcohol content of the first non-distilled
versions. Only being a real treatment for poison ivy rashes. At the end of the fifteenth century, Poland would
start the process of exporting the basic version of vodka to Silesia bringing vodka from Eastern Europe to the
western parts of the continent. With how cheap it was to produce vodka was soon seen as the working man's drink
in Eastern Europe and beyond. Moving into the seventeenth century the popularization of bread wine in Russia.
Bread wine had a moderately low ABV of 24% or less due to the mixture being diluted with water. Brewing bread
wine was done in a simple way of distilling grain in a copper pot still before putting the finished product into
a frozen barrel and then watered down. In the 19th century, two revolutionary changes were made to push vodka
into what it is today. The first was the creation and patent of continuous distillation in a Coffey Still by
Aeneas Coffey. The second was with the use of a rectification distillery cleansing the vodka of any leftover
taste or odors bringing us to the vodka we know today.
Vodka comes to America
At the start of the 20th century, political unrest in Russia caused many wealthy citizens to move to other
Eurasian countries and even further to America where in 1911 vodka was first recorded being used in the making
of a cocktail. After the first world war prohibition in America took hold, and many bar owners decided to leave
the country for Europe with less strict alcohol laws. In Europe, many American bar owners began experimenting
with this newly introduced drink by wealthy Russians who moved away during the political unrest years before.
making many cocktails still drank today like the Bloody Mary and predecessor of the Martini. In the second world
war vodka was used heavily by the USSR being given before the German attacks. By the end of the 20th century,
America had started producing its brands of vodka including brands like Smirnoff, Absolut, Kettle One, Titos,
and Grey Goose. Serval more cocktails were also made including the Cosmopolitan and the Martini.
How Vodka was Brewed through the ages
During the advent of vodka, the spirit had a comparatively low ABV of 20-25%. Due to the harsh cold fronts of
Eastern Europe, the distillation process would use freezing to extract the water from the diluted solution
giving the pure vodka. Bread wine in Russia changed this with a normal distillation process with the base
usually consisting of either grain or potatoes. Pulp is the first ingredient to be made in the process by adding
your base ingredient of grain or potatoes into the water which is then heated. Fermentation of the pulp is
started, first by adding yeast to the pulp to help speed up the conversion of the sugar into alcohol then by
letting the new mixture sit for upwards of two weeks. Next is the distillation of the fermented mixture in a
copper pot still by heating and vaporizing afterward being collected and recondensed into a purer vodka.
Finally, the pure vodka is diluted to the desired ABV with water, bottled, and then sold. This process was used
until the invention of continuous distillation in a Coffey Still and a rectification distillery which is now
used in almost all vodka distillation. Continuous distillation is the process of distilling the fermented pulp
multiple times in the same distillery giving a higher purity with each pass-through as well as more constancy. A
rectification distillery is used after the distilled spirit has been made it is filtered by removing any odors
and giving it the clean flavor it is known for.
At the start of the 20th century, political unrest in Russia caused many wealthy citizens to move to other
Eurasian countries and even further to America where in 1911 vodka was first recorded being used in the making
of a cocktail. After the first world war prohibition in America took hold, and many bar owners decided to leave
the country for Europe with less strict alcohol laws. In Europe, many American bar owners began experimenting
with this newly introduced drink by wealthy Russians who moved away during the political unrest years before.
making many cocktails still drank today like the Bloody Mary and predecessor of the Martini. In the second world
war vodka was used heavily by the USSR being given before the German attacks. By the end of the 20th century,
America had started producing its brands of vodka including brands like Smirnoff, Absolut, Kettle One, Titos,
and Grey Goose. Serval more cocktails were also made including the Cosmopolitan and the Martini.
During the advent of vodka, the spirit had a comparatively low ABV of 20-25%. Due to the harsh cold fronts of
Eastern Europe, the distillation process would use freezing to extract the water from the diluted solution
giving the pure vodka. Bread wine in Russia changed this with a normal distillation process with the base
usually consisting of either grain or potatoes. Pulp is the first ingredient to be made in the process by adding
your base ingredient of grain or potatoes into the water which is then heated. Fermentation of the pulp is
started, first by adding yeast to the pulp to help speed up the conversion of the sugar into alcohol then by
letting the new mixture sit for upwards of two weeks. Next is the distillation of the fermented mixture in a
copper pot still by heating and vaporizing afterward being collected and recondensed into a purer vodka.
Finally, the pure vodka is diluted to the desired ABV with water, bottled, and then sold. This process was used
until the invention of continuous distillation in a Coffey Still and a rectification distillery which is now
used in almost all vodka distillation. Continuous distillation is the process of distilling the fermented pulp
multiple times in the same distillery giving a higher purity with each pass-through as well as more constancy. A
rectification distillery is used after the distilled spirit has been made it is filtered by removing any odors
and giving it the clean flavor it is known for.