What is Vodka made from? How is it manufactured today?
What is a dirty cocktail?
A dirty cocktail is a cocktail made with a spirit that has been infused with flavour. The most common type of dirty cocktail is made with vodka that has been infused with olives but other flavours can be used as well.
Dirty cocktails are usually made by infusing vodka with flavour for a period of time but they can also be made by adding flavoured liqueurs or syrups to the mix.
A Martini is dirty, for example, when Olive brine is added to it.
What is Vodka made from? How is it manufactured today?
Vodka is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain or potatoes. The word "vodka" is derived from the Slavic word voda, meaning "water." The earliest written reference to vodka comes from Russia in the early 12th century. Vodka was originally used as a medicine and was thought to be a cure for everything from the common cold to cancer.
How is Vodka distilled? what is the process?
Vodka is distilled from a fermented grain or potato mash. The mash is placed in a still where it is heated until the alcohol evaporates. The vapor is then condensed and collected. Vodka is primarily made from grains including wheat, rye, barley and sorghum. The grain is milled into a fine powder and mixed with water to form a mash. The mash is then fermented with yeast to produce alcohol. The fermented mixture is then distilled to produce vodka. The final product is typically around 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof).
What Is Vodka Made From?
Vodka is a simple liquor made with just a few ingredients. Most vodka is made from an agricultural product that undergoes a fermentation process, such as potato vodka. Vodka can be made from many different types of grains, such as wheat, rye, or sorghum.
After undergoing the fermentation process, the base produce is ethanol. This ethanol is skimmed off by vodka makers, leaving them with pure, liquid alcohol. After the distillation process, vodka makers add water to the product in order to achieve the desired alcohol by volume. To be classified as vodka in the United States, an alcoholic beverage must contain at least 40% alcohol by volume (ABV); in the European Union, vodka must be at least 37.5% ABV.3
Some vodka brands add flavourings during or after distillation to achieve a distinctive character in their liquor. These additives can include botanicals, spices, or flavourings.
How Vodka Is Made
Most vodka makers follow a few basic steps to produce vodka:
1. To create a fermentable base, mix together the ingredients. To make a vodka, mix together wheat malt, flaked maize, or rye with water and yeast. Youll then heat and stir the mixture until its well combined and ready to ferment.
2. Ferment the base. After vodka makers add their base ingredients, they store the mixture for a set amount of time, usually between one and two weeks. During this fermentation step, compounds break down and produce ethanol or ethyl alcohol.
3. After fermentation is complete, vodka makers filter out the liquid from the fermented solids. They discard the solids and use the liquid (ethanol) to make vodka.
4. Distilling is a process that cleanses a liquid by heating and vaporizing it, then collecting the vaporized liquid as it condenses back into a liquid. The resulting liquid is considered purer (since it leaves behind fewer impurities when it evaporates) and more alcoholic. There are many different ways to make vodka”some producers only distil once or twice, while others may require distillation and redistillation many times for a purer result. If they're making flavoured vodka, they may choose to add botanicals during distillation - some steep their botanicals in ethanol before or between distillations, while others add botanicals during distilling with a special still.
5.Collect and sort the product. The various liquid by-products of vodka distillation are not all the same”as ethanol distils, the resultant liquid changes. The first 35% of a distillation result in an ethanol product that contains methanol or acetone and can be highly volatile or toxic”containers of this liquid are called œforeshots and œheads, and distillers usually throw them out. The following 30 percent of the product are called the œhearts, which are the best of the lot. The final 35 percent of the product is made up of œtails, which are not as pure but can still be used for more product.
6. Filter: Vodka is made by distilling ethanol from grains. Distillate is the liquid that remains after all of the alcohol has been removed. To make a traditional vodka, the distillate is passed through a filtration system to remove any impurities. This system usually uses charcoal or carbon to remove any unwanted flavours.
7. Dilute. After the distilling process is complete, the distillers will dilute their vodka to the desired alcohol content using a testing method called Alcohol By Volume (ABV).8. Bottle. The final step in the process is labelling and bottling, in which vodka makers add the final product to labelled bottles.
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Any Glass
When there is no specific glass suggested for a cocktail, it's up to you to chose a glass.
Either you just go ahead and serve using any glass available to you following these simple rules
A. Go for Tall or Collins Glasses, Highball Glasses or even Hurricane Glasses for cocktails with loads of non-alcoholic mixes, and those that require crushed or cubed ices,
B. But if your cocktail is aromatic and liqueur based, and has a complex character that must reach the nose use a wide mouthed Cocktail Glass.
C. Red Wine Glasses for cocktails that have a Red Wine as the base spirit. Red Wine Glasses have a wider mouth and a long stem, so that the wine can be swirled an aerated to release the aroma while the long stem keeps the fingers away and avoid quick warming of the wine.
D. White Wine Glasses for cocktails with a White Wine base, since White Wines must not be aerated as much as a Red Wines, since they oxidise fast when in contact with air, White Wine glassware, in contrast to the wide mouthed bowl of a Red Wine Glassware, is narrow with a narrow mouth. A White Wine has much lighter and delicate notes and the narrow mouth and less surface area in contact with air helps retain the aroma.
E. If your cocktail is based on a Sparkling Wine like Champagne then a Flute Glass is more suitable since a Sparkling Wine is a White Wine with a secondary fermentation that produces the bubbles, and the narrow mouth flute prevents the bubbles from escaping.
F. If it's winter and you are in the mood for some hot cocktails like the Irish Coffee or Hot Toddy, go for the Irish Coffee Glass, it has a heat resistant glass and a handle.
G. Martini Glasses for Martinis or "Tinis" in general, but since these glasses have fallen off of favour these days, a Cocktail Glass will be good too.
H. IF you are serving Margaritas, don't look for Margarita Glass if you don't have one at home, Double Old Fashioned Glass or other glasses are more common these days, for serving Margaritas.
I. If you are the adventurous one, and are serving shots or shooters, of course the Shot Glass is your choice of glass,
J. Finally, if you are going all out and serving depth charges and car bomb shots, all you need is a Double Old Fashioned Glass or a Beer Mug for the beer and a shot glass to drop the bomb in.Simple Guide to Cocktail Glassware
When there is no specific glass suggested for a cocktail, it's up to you to chose a glass.
Either you just go ahead and serve using any glass available to you following these simple rules
A. Go for Tall or Collins Glasses, Highball Glasses or even Hurricane Glasses for cocktails with loads of non-alcoholic mixes, and those that require crushed or cubed ices,
B. But if your cocktail is aromatic and liqueur based, and has a complex character that must reach the nose use a wide mouthed Cocktail Glass.
C. Red Wine Glasses for cocktails that have a Red Wine as the base spirit. Red Wine Glasses have a wider mouth and a long stem, so that the wine can be swirled an aerated to release the aroma while the long stem keeps the fingers away and avoid quick warming of the wine.
D. White Wine Glasses for cocktails with a White Wine base, since White Wines must not be aerated as much as a Red Wines, since they oxidise fast when in contact with air, White Wine glassware, in contrast to the wide mouthed bowl of a Red Wine Glassware, is narrow with a narrow mouth. A White Wine has much lighter and delicate notes and the narrow mouth and less surface area in contact with air helps retain the aroma.
E. If your cocktail is based on a Sparkling Wine like Champagne then a Flute Glass is more suitable since a Sparkling Wine is a White Wine with a secondary fermentation that produces the bubbles, and the narrow mouth flute prevents the bubbles from escaping.
F. If it's winter and you are in the mood for some hot cocktails like the Irish Coffee or Hot Toddy, go for the Irish Coffee Glass, it has a heat resistant glass and a handle.
G. Martini Glasses for Martinis or "Tinis" in general, but since these glasses have fallen off of favour these days, a Cocktail Glass will be good too.
H. IF you are serving Margaritas, don't look for Margarita Glass if you don't have one at home, Double Old Fashioned Glass or other glasses are more common these days, for serving Margaritas.
I. If you are the adventurous one, and are serving shots or shooters, of course the Shot Glass is your choice of glass,
J. Finally, if you are going all out and serving depth charges and car bomb shots, all you need is a Double Old Fashioned Glass or a Beer Mug for the beer and a shot glass to drop the bomb in.
Please Note All Recipes and Articles on this site are for entertainment and general information only. None of it is to be considered final or absolutely correct or medical in nature.
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About Us
Neel B and Mani, we are a team of two, originally from India and the United States. We are professional software engineers and passionate cocktail enthusiasts. We built this app because we saw a need for a more comprehensive and user-friendly way to find cocktails and bartending recipes. We hope you enjoy using our app as much as we enjoyed making it!We decided to use our technology skills to help others who were in the same position as us and wanted to experiment with making cocktails at home but didn\u2019t know where to start. We have been working together for more than two years and has managed to collect an extensive library of recipes as well as tips and tricks for making the perfect cocktail.
Neel B is an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer and martial arts and fitness enthusiast. He is an avid reader, compulsive doodler, and painter. His love for cocktails arises from the art in it and the history that traces the ups and downs of modern civilisation over centuries.
Mani is an ERP and SaaS developer and architect by day and a cocktail enthusiast in her leisure. She holds a Masters in Computer Application and Programming. In addition to writing stories on the history of cocktails and alcohol, she has a special interest in cocktails in literature. She believes that the perfect cocktail can make any moment special.