Tag: vodka
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A Belvedere Distillery Visit and Vodka Terroir in the Single Estate Series
I visited Poland with Belvedere Vodka to see how the vodka is made and to learn about the then-forthcoming Single Estate Rye series of vodkas, in which the same rye was grown in two different parts of Poland and separate, unfiltered vodkas were made from each. We got super deep into the science of terroir.
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When Vodka Was Made From Potatoes
Despite the common belief that all vodka is made from potatoes, very little of it is. We’ll look at when and where vodka was first made from potatoes as we trace the spirit’s history.
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Hunting Bison in Poland with ZU Vodka
No bison were harmed in the writing of this blog post. This summer I flew to Warsaw with ZU vodka, known in the rest of the world as Zubrowka. Zubrowka is bison grass vodka; vodka flavored with grass. The stuff tastes like caramel and jasmine and hay, and makes apple juice taste like apple pie.…
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An Amusingly Disgusting Way to Drink Vodka in Sweden
While I was in Sweden with Karlsson's Gold vodka, we learned a traditional way to drink vodka. It is called Kaffegök, and it is gross. You take a cup and put a coin in the bottom. Then you fill it with coffee until you can't see the coin anymore. Then you add vodka until you…
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Karlsson’s Vodka: It’s In The Blend
Months ago I started to talk about my trip to Sweden with Karlsson's vodka. I only covered how to pick potatoes so far. The potatoes for this vodka all come from Cape Bjare in Sweden.To get there, we drove from Copenhagen, over the relatively new bridge that connects Denmark to Sweden with Malmo on the…
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Tequila is the New Vodka; Tequila is the New Scotch in LA Times Magazine
I've brought up one side of this topic before here on Alcademics, but now both sides are in a magazine. In today's Los Angeles Times Magazine I have a story on tequila, looking at how brands are being produced and marketed – some like vodka; others like scotch. As our preference for 100 percent agave tequila…
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How to Pick Potatoes
Earlier this month I visited Cape Bjare, Sweden to learn about Karlsson's Vodka. Karlsson's is made from a blend of seven heiroom "virgin new" potatoes. This means that the skin hasn't fully developed into the brown stuff we recognize here in the States. In Sweden, restaurants serve these little tiny potatoes as a delicacy (I…
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The Humble Potato and the Dangers of Monoculture
Recently I watch the documentary The Botany of Desire on Netflix, based on the Michael Pollan book of the same name. Of the four plants they focussed on, one was the potato. And as I was planning a trip to visit a potato vodka distillery, I decided to take notes. The Origin of the Potato…