- Vodka is fermented, distilled, and filtered to ensure it's mostly neutral in color, taste, and scent.
- There are no restrictions on what vodka can be made from, but it's mostly made from grains or potatoes.
- Because of its neutrality, vodka pairs well with almost anything and is a popular base for cocktails.
- Visit Insider's Home & Kitchen Reference library for more stories.
Vodka is a distilled spirit known for its neutral flavor and odor. It originated in Eastern Europe, where it is usually enjoyed chilled and neat.
In the case of spirits like brandy and tequila, you can often taste what they are made from in the final product — fermented fruit and agave plants, respectively. But vodka's neutrality makes it hard to figure out what's actually in the bottle. Melkon Khosrovian, co-founder and spirits maker at Greenbar Distillery in Los Angeles, helps to clear up some misconceptions about this clear spirit.
What is vodka made from?
"Vodka can be made of almost anything," says Khosrovian. Unlike bourbon or tequila, which have strict legal protections that dictate what they can be made from and where they can be produced, vodka can be made anywhere and distilled from any ingredient that ferments. "You can use literally anything that has sugar in it," Khosrovian says.
Although the requirements aren't as strict as whiskey, there are still some rules to making vodka. "To be considered vodka, it first has to be highly distilled to 95% ABV (190 proof) or above," says Khosrovian. "It is also normally filtered to remove any color or flavor that survives the distilling process."
Although there are no hard rules about the base ingredient, vodka is commonly made from grains like wheat, rye, and corn. In Eastern Europe, where vodka originated, it is commonly made from potatoes.
"Most people know vodka as a high-proof, colorless, odorless spirit, but there are differences and nuances," Khosrovian says. Each base ingredient imparts a different character to the finished bottle and affects both the mouthfeel and texture. "For example, grain-based vodkas will expand and bloom quickly on your palate and deliver the flavor to every part of your mouth," Khosrovian says. Fruit-based vodkas are more delicate, smooth, and compact. Vodkas made from potatoes, which Khosrovian recommends for sipping neat, tend to split the difference between grain and fruit vodkas in both flavor and texture.
Types of vodka
Although vodka is traditionally neutral and odorless, there are a few different styles of vodka available, most notably flavored and infused vodkas — where neutrality goes out the window in exchange for a fruity or herbal flavor profile.
Flavored vodkas tend to be sweetened and have citrus and berry flavors added to them. "These typically are used to make cocktails," Khosrovian says. "They're a great way for a bartender to add flavor without using more ingredients." An example of this is the use of Absolut Citron when making a cosmopolitan.
Infused vodkas have also become a popular tool for bartenders and home mixologists. Vodka is a blank canvas, making it great for taking on flavors from other ingredients. These vodkas are often lightly infused with more savory flavors like chili peppers, herbs, and other botanicals.
To make infused vodka at home, simply steep your desired ingredient in plain vodka for several days or until it reaches your desired strength of flavor. "These are a bit more sophisticated, a bit more like gin in some cases," Khosrovian says. "They allow for the creation of cocktails that pair well with food."
How is vodka made?
Vodka is made similarly to almost every distilled spirit, but there are a few crucial differences. "To make vodka, you must begin with ingredients with sugar, like fruit or wheat," says Khosrovian. These ingredients are often cooked down with water to break down some of the more complex naturally occurring sugars.
Yeast is then added to the mixture — known as the mash — and it's allowed to ferment. During that fermentation, the sugars in the mixture convert into alcohol. "When we ferment something at Greenbar, we end up with a mixture that's 10% alcohol," Khosrovian says.
Once the mash is properly fermented, it is then distilled. "The distillation process removes the water and concentrates the alcohol," says Khosrovian.
Vodka is almost always distilled on column stills because of how much more quickly and efficiently they distill the vodka to a high proof. "To get to the proper concentration more efficiently, column stills let us distill multiple times in one run," Khosrovian says.
"Once distilled to 95% ABV, the vodka still has some color and flavor," Khosrovian says. The vodka is then filtered through activated charcoal in order to remove any remaining impurities to create a highly potent, colorless spirit. Distilled water is then mixed with the vodka to create a palatable mixture at an acceptable ABV of 40% or higher, or 35% for flavored vodka. After dilution, it becomes what we recognize as vodka.
How does vodka differ from other spirits?
What sets vodka apart compared to other spirits is its neutrality. Other spirits are more lightly distilled to retain flavor, or even barrel-aged to add flavor and color. But the goal of vodka production is to produce a crisp, clear spirit that is nearly odorless and without overwhelming flavors.
"The thing that defines vodka is its purity," Khosrovian says. Because of its purity, vodka is an easy spirit to mix with. Other spirits have strong identifiable flavors that can limit the ingredients they are combined with, but vodka can fit in almost anywhere. Two of the most popular vodka cocktails, the sweet and fruity cosmopolitan and savory Bloody Mary, show the extreme range of possible flavors to pair with vodka.
Insider's takeaway
Vodka is known for its purity. Almost anything that can ferment can be made into vodka, but most vodkas are made from potatoes or grains like wheat and corn. The qualities that make vodka desirable in the world of spirits are achieved through distilling and filtering until the vodka is nearly colorless and odorless, creating a spirit that can be mixed with almost anything.
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