The Four Types of Vodka:

From plain to grain, vodka comes in different flavors that you might not be tapped into unless you’re a spirit enthusiast. We usually reach for this alcohol to mix it and mend it with juices or sodas because some think of it as “flavorless.” The next time you have vodka on your mind, pay closer attention to what you’re getting because this spirit comes in four very different types.

Before we talk about the types of vodka, let’s take a look at how they’re made:

1. Fermentation: Like any alcohol, vodka is fermented. This happens when yeast is fed sugar, which in turn produces alcohol. Most vodkas are made with blends of rye, wheat, corn, sorghum, or malts. As you’ll read in this article, rice, beets, and more commonly potatoes can also be used.

The fermentation process can take about two weeks. Once the time’s up, the vodka maker will strain out the solids and leave the liquid base.

1. Distillation: Here, the alcohol is separated from the water by being essentially boiled as it has a lower boiling temperature than the latter. Because it’s being evaporated, impurities are left behind in the process. Some distillers would repeat this step several times, while others only do it once, thus giving a more pure product, and achieving a higher alcohol content.
2. Dilution: Distillation usually produces alcohol too strong for us to drink and enjoy, so dilution is necessary to bring down the vodka to a tolerable standard of 40% ABV. That said, some producers will sell alcohol BEFORE the dilution process. One example would be Everclear, which can be up to 190 proof. Needless to say, they’re not meant to be consumed as a standalone spirit.
3. Filtration: Depending on the distiller, this process can happen before or after dilution. They commonly use carbon or charcoal to filter the drink, but quartz crystals and even lava rocks could do the trick. Although this is a common step with most vodka producers, many skip this step and focus instead on their distillation technique to produce a pure vodka. A reason to do this step however is to help the vodka stay clear, clean, and not cloud over time.

Plain Vodka

This traditional version is the easiest of the four to make; in fact, it’s considered to be the most straightforward spirit to produce! It’s about 95% alcohol, and consists of 40% water and 60% ethanol; this makes it a great base for mixing drinks. Usually when someone says they enjoy plain vodka, they like the smoothness and cleanliness of it, rather than the flavorlessness (unless you consider ethanol delicious of course, but most people don’t).

Fruit and Herb Infusions

These vodkas are just as they sound, made with fruits and herbs. The distilling process is a bit slower moving than the aforementioned due to the infusion process, but the final product is a more flavorful spirit with distinct colors and memorable aromas. The base of fruit vodka consists of 50 to 80% alcohol and is soaked with fruits.

Infusing vodka takes about three weeks before it’s filtered and aged. A true spirit enthusiast would actually be able to infuse this type at home!

Grain Vodkas

This is the driest type of the bunch. It’s made up of over 96% concentrated alcohol. It starts as pure rye usually, then mixed with water to start the distillation and infusion process. Potato vodka could also be used, which is known to be the “healthier” version of the two in this sub genre as it’s gluten and sugar-free, with low carbs (it’s also known as the most flavorful).

Grain vodkas are usually found in colder climates, like Poland or Russia. There’s no clear indication as to who invented vodka, but the big debate of who the founder’s of the spirit are between the two countries. When this spirit was first made, potatoes were typically used. Eventually distillers found that grains are usable too. In present times, Russia generally uses grains for their vodka as potatoes don’t grow well in their cold country.

Flavored Vodkas

Perhaps the fastest growing in popularity of all vodkas is the flavored. These are probably the easiest to pick up and drink because you don’t need mixers or juices to enjoy them. They could come in many flavors such as blueberry, orange, apple, citrus, and even cinnamon. Although they could be fruity, they’re not the same as fruit infused vodkas.

They start out similarly in production to plain vodkas with 95% alcohol, but through distillation, they get their taste. Most of the ingredients are the same as plain, aside from about 5% sugar being added to mellow out the harshness.

Conclusion

Those are the four main makes of vodka. Within them you’ll find many subtypes, generally paying homage to the area they’re from. Flavors are found all around the world, Estonia usually housing the fruity profiles, Russia for their plaine, or Poland for honey. This spirit is incredibly versatile and could be mixed or enjoyed on its own. Now that you hold some knowledge on the four main types, I encourage you to go out and find your unique taste.