Key Takeaways:
Should be a neutral in taste and aroma
Can be made from virtually anything. The most common raw materials are various grains, and potatoes.
Distilled to a very high proof
Vodka is a type of spirit that's synonymous with a kind of neutral spirit because it has been distilled to such a high proof that very few congeners, aromas, and flavors remain. You can find vodka made anywhere and from virtually anything. Russia and Poland were the most renowned and historically important early producers of vodka in large volumes. Mentioned in the beginning of the 16th Century (conservative estimate). The focus of the Russians and Polish upon filtration in the late 1800s and early 1900s influences to this day many of the world's other vodka producers, even if it's not taken as seriously or practiced as rigorously in most other countries.
Characteristics
Vodka is an aroma-less, flavorless distilled spirit, which has been distilled to higher than 190-proof and may have been filtered. It is usually clear and colorless, although a few exceptions exist.
There are no limits on the raw materials that can be utilized to make vodka. Most people use common grains, like corn and wheat, as well as vegetables, including potatoes and sugar beets, to distil to a very high proof (often 195-proof) and then cut the distillate with distilled water to 80-proof, or 40 percent alcohol by volume. Among other grains utilized, rye is chief amongst them.
Key Points & Opinion
Vodka is heavily impacted by “luxury marketing”
Primary method of distillation: Column (though not always)
Alcohol acts as a solvent to convey flavor. Vodka is the most neutral way to do this, such as via infusions
Vodka is and can be delicious!
When mixing, it is a scaffold to hold other flavors up
Examples
Sobierski, Absolut, Wheatley