White Paper: Spirits Assignment
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White Paper: Spirits Assignment
Chosen Spirit
Vodka is the chosen spirit that will be analyzed in this paper. It is a spirit that is associated with three countries-Russia, Sweden and Poland. It is a clear distilled alcohol with various varieties originating from these countries. The components of the alcohol include ethanol and water, even though there are some poor qualities that has traces of flavorings or impurities. The alcoholic beverage is made through distillation of liquid from fermented cereal grains. However, there has been the use of fermented potatoes in distilling the alcohol as it is a substitute for making the alcoholic beverage. There may also be a distillation of fruits, maple sap, and fruits in the present times, as these also offer an important substitute. Since its introduction in the 1890s, the standard alcohol by volume (ABV) content has been 40 percent or 80 US proof. The EU also established that the required alcohol content for beverage should be thirty-seven and a half percent. However, the minimum alcohol content for the United States vodka should be forty percent. In conventional times, alcohol is taken neat, which implies that it should not be mixed with ice, water, or any other mixer. It also served freezer chilled in countries like Poland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Finland, Estonia, and Belarus. However, it can also be used as a cocktail and mixed with other drinks like vodka tonic, vodka martini, screwdriver, cosmopolitan, greyhound, white/black Russian, blood Mary, Caesar, and Moscow mule.
The vodka drink was previously being used a medicinal agent. However, it has been turned into an alcoholic beverage and became one of the selling beverages in the world where in 2012, more than 4.44 billion liters of the beverage was sold, making it the most popular brand. For production of the product, there is a need for fermentation of food products that contain sugar and starch. The product obtained from the fermentation will be distilled, as this will be critically important for the improvement of the alcoholic content. Fermentation is a process that feeds sugar to yeast, as this will ensure a production of the alcoholic content. Currently, the alcoholic beverage is made from corn, sorghum, rye, rice, and wheat, and also the products that were mentioned previously. The manufacturing policies use them as the primary source in producing alcohol. When these products had been fermented, the alcohol content produced is sixteen percent alcohol by volume, which is significantly a low level of alcohol in the products. For the level of alcohol content to be improved, there is a need of upping it, which requires various distillation or the product is being heated in a container known as a still. Because it has a low boiling point that water, there can be collection of the evaporated alcohol, making it easy to be separated from the water content. The final product will be between 30% and 40% ABV. There are other brands known as rectified spirits that even reach between 95 and 96% ABV in the United States.
Manufacturers
The first brands of vodka were produced in between 8th and 9th century in Poland and Russia, respectively. During the Napoleon wars, the popularity of the product spread through the Russian soldiers. After the occurrence of Russian revolution, there was a relocation of one manufacturer who moved to Paris, France and started producing the product in the capital. He started producing a brand known as Smirnoff.
Even though historians have not provided an exact origin of the product, it is thought to have been established between 8th and 9th century in Poland and Russia. The old brands of the product were simply fermented, which provided a 14 percent ABV. Sometimes, there is addition of flavors to ensure an increased flavor and had medicinal purposes. After the invention of still, there is an improved alcohol proof and purity, as some have ABV of between 95 and 96%. Between the 12th and 13th century, there was production of the product in Russia, Scandinavia and Poland. In the eighteenth century, Russians became the first group of people to involve the use of charcoal in filtering the product, as this was essential in not only removing the impurities but also improving its qualities.
During the pre-prohibition period, the alcoholic beverage was unknown to the residents of the United States. The main products offered in bars included flavored gin, whiskey, and brandy. However, Smirnoff created the first vodka in the United States in 1934, as they launched a campaign that increased their customer based in the country. Besides, there was also the creation of ginger beer cocktail known as Moscow Mule. They used a campaign, “Smirnoff will leave you breathless.” In 1967, it became the number one selling spirt in the United States, surpassing the gin spirit. Vodka can be made from any product that has fermentable sugars. However, when potatoes have been used, there will be a production of creamier vodkas. Rye will produce spicy spirit and grapes will provide delicate floral spirit.
There are a few regulations for the manufacturing companies producing vodka. The use of still has enabled manufacturing companies to produce a high level of product because of the increased alcohol content. The premium version of the product can also be made by using a pot still. In this regard, the filtration of the brand will occur on various occasions while being tested until the needed alcohol content is reached. The flirtation is also essential in removing the impurities in the product, which has been one of the effective ways the manufacturing companies are using to market their products. The base materials useful for the distillation of the product will also be determining the flavor, aroma, and overall style. The number of times that the product is being filtered will be determining the aroma, and flavors. After filtration, it will be bottled unaged and must have forty percent alcohol by volume (80 proof), as required in the United States (Wiśniewska et al., 2015). Because of no regulations, it known as a neutral grain spirit; besides, the primary method that is used in making the brand is the through fermentation and distillation of products like rye, corn, wheat and other grains that can provide starch, fermented using yeast. The potato vodka has mainly been produced among polish manufacturers and also other Scandinavian countries as provided by Ciepielowski et al. (2019). Any grain can be used in the distillation of the product.
It is a rectified spirit, which implies that during manufacturing process, it is distilled at least three times depending on the desirable qualities by the manufacturing company. There are companies that carries distillation from five or mor times, which has become a common practice as the manufacturing companies uses this in broadcasting their products. It is assumed that the increased distillation makes the product to be smoother and cleaner. It is also essential in removing purity and increasing the alcohol content. As the vodka product is made to go through the still system, there is removal of heads and tails, which refers to parts that of the distillate located on the bottom and top of the produced batch. Through the removal of the heart of the distillate, there is reduced impurities, making the final product to become cleaner.
After the distillation process, there will be filtration, where charcoal is useful. The alcoholic beverage does not age and it can be taken as long as there is the production of the product. However, the water from still give in bottling proof where the final product should be 40% as provided by Prentice & Handsjuk (2016). Even though it is very difficult for manufacturing companies to produce 100-proof vodka or higher proof, they are available.
Description of the Product Available
Vodka is defined as unaged, clear spirit that is produced when there is fermentation of sugars. The sugars are sourced from rye, wheat, barley, which are the common forms of products. However, it can also be sourced from grapes, potatoes, honey. The legal definition of vodka provides that it is odorless, colorless, and flavorless alcoholic beverage. However, it can have different taste and aromas depending on the flavors added by manufacturing companies. Besides, in most of time, vodka, is made from neutral bulk spirit and water. Quality vodka is subtle compared to the other spirts. Besides, it has a citrusy and creamy taste and even malty.
Vodka alcoholic beverage has a neutral taste. It relies on water, as this is one of the components of the product. The manufacturing companies may use different brand brag and some ultra clean source of water to create the product. It cannot be substituted when manufacturing, as it is only important during distillation but also bottling process. Vodka has not distinct taste, as stylistic difference of the alcoholic beverages when used in terms tongues texture, known as mouthfeel. There are various brands like Absolut, which is silky, oily, and a sweetness taste. There are others like Stolichnaya are clean-watery, and have medicinal value. The current brands of vodka tastes are difficult to be pinpointed.
Because of the various brands, there are others that are not entirely odorless/tasteless, making them tov have various differences. It has a subtle flavor and often looks like a clear grain. When a drunkard uses various brands of the product, they will start identifying various tastes. Besides, the vodka heat is also a common term that is useful in describing the taste of the alcoholic beverage, as it refers to the burn that one feels at the back on the tongue/throat when they drink it straight. It is an indication of the smoothness of the alcoholic beverage. Heat will only be created by the care that the manufacturing companies take to ensure that there are clean vodka products. It is determined by the number of distillation and filtration product that the product is made to undergo. Less expensive brands of the product will burn the mouth and throat of users. The premiums brands are different, as they will not only be subtle but also smooth.
The most common flavor of the spirit is citrus (regardless of if its single fruit or blended). The spirit also has a vanilla flavor. Berries, pineapples, melons, pomegranate, and various types of fruits are used in providing flavor to the spirit. In the recent time, there has been the use of chocolate flavors, which is becoming a new category of tastes. There are other flavors like bacon, salmon, tobacco, and hemp even though these flavors are not long lasting in the market. The traditional infusion method is used in giving the spirits flavors. However, natural and artificial flavors can be used in giving the vodka flavors. Because of the additive use, the bottled spirits are supposed to be 70 proof as provided by Ellis et al. (2019). It is also possible to make the product and give it flavor, as the use of fresh fruits, spices or herbs can be used.
References
Ciepielowski, G., Pacholczyk‐Sienicka, B., Frączek, T., Klajman, K., Paneth, P., & Albrecht, Ł. (2019). Comparison of quantitative NMR and IRMS for the authentication of ‘Polish Vodka’. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 99(1), 263-268.
Ellis, D. I., Muhamadali, H., Xu, Y., Eccles, R., Goodall, I., & Goodacre, R. (2019). Rapid through-container detection of fake spirits and methanol quantification with handheld Raman spectroscopy. Analyst, 144(1), 324-330.
Prentice, C., & Handsjuk, N. (2016). Insights into Vodka consumer attitude and purchasing behaviors. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 32, 7-14.
Wiśniewska, P., Śliwińska, M., Dymerski, T., Wardencki, W., & Namieśnik, J. (2015). The analysis of vodka: a review paper. Food Analytical Methods, 8(8), 2000-2010.