page_title: Vodka
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Vodka / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka distillery, Shatsk, Ryazan Oblast, Russia. Nederlands: Wodka-bottelmachine in een fabriek in de Russische stad Sjatsk (oblast Rjazan). Română: Maşină de îmbuteliat votcă din Rusia. Русский: Конвейер по розливу водки на заводе в Шатске, Рязанская область, Россия. Svenska: Vodkaupptappningsmaskin, Sjatskaja VodkaSjatsk, Ryssland. Deutsch: Wodka-Abfüllanlage, Shatskaya Vodka, Schazk, Oblast Rjasan, Russland.
context_page_description: Vodka is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage with different varieties originating in Poland, Russia and Sweden. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol, but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings. Traditionally it is made by distilling the liquid from cereal grains that have been fermented, with potatoes arising as a substitute in more recent times, and some modern brands using fruits as the base.
  Since the 1890s, standard vodkas have been 40% alcohol by volume. The European Union has established a minimum alcohol content of 37.5% for vodka. Vodka in the United States must have a minimum alcohol content of 40%.
  Vodka is traditionally drunk "neat", although it is often served freezer chilled in the vodka belt of Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine. It is also used in cocktails and mixed drinks, such as the vodka martini, Cosmopolitan, vodka tonic, screwdriver, greyhound, Black or White Russian, Moscow mule, Bloody Mary, and Caesar.
context_section_description: Vodka may be distilled from any starch- or sugar-rich plant matter; most vodka today is produced from grains such as sorghum, corn, rye or wheat. Among grain vodkas, rye and wheat vodkas are generally considered superior. Some vodkas are made from potatoes, molasses, soybeans, grapes, rice, sugar beets and sometimes even byproducts of oil refining or wood pulp processing. In some Central European countries, such as Poland, some vodka is produced by just fermenting a solution of crystal sugar and yeast. In the European Union there are talks about the standardization of vodka, and the Vodka Belt countries insist that only spirits produced from grains, potato and sugar beet molasses be allowed to be branded as "vodka", following the traditional methods of production.
  In the United States, many vodkas are made from 95% pure grain alcohol produced in large quantities by agricultural-industrial giants Archer Daniels Midland, Grain Processing Corporation, and Midwest Grain Products (MGP). Bottlers purchase the base spirits in bulk, then filter, dilute, distribute and market the end product under a variety of vodka brand names. Similar methods are used in other regions such as Europe.
  This pure grain alcohol, also known as rectified spirit, neutral spirit, or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin is also available directly to consumers in some areas, as products such as Everclear, Polmos spirits rektyfikowany, and others. In contrast to very-high ABV vodkas such as the Bulgarian Balkan 176° with 88% ABV, these grain alcohol products are not considered vodka; they have not (yet) gone through the filtration and refining process used to produce vodka.
  A study conducted on NPR's Planet Money podcast revealed negligible differences in taste between various brands of vodka, leading to speculation as to how much branding contributes to the concept of "super-premium vodkas".
caption: Vodka bottling machine, Shatskaya Vodka (Shatsk, Russia)
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