Why can vodka, which is only "alcohol mixed with water", become a big drink?

When it comes to vodka, many people's first impression is this:

This kind of cognition exists not only in the domestic network, but also all over the world. Such photos and facial expressions have also been searched a lot on a nonexistent website.

Many people claim that vodka is pure and has no other taste except alcohol. This kind of "guidance" appears in various communities and nightclubs.

It's just that they don't understand or deliberately ignore one thing: if vodka is just alcohol mixed with water, then getting drunk is obviously a vulgar thing.

However, in fact, many demanding "elegant" people are also loyal fans of vodka.

Bond's signature drink is vodka martini.

His other hobby, gin, is also regarded as "vulgar" by many people.

Clive owen (Sin City) also spoke for vodka.

In the eyes of many people, such an English gentleman should only drink whisky and wine.

Vodka = stupid hi? !

"Money is like vodka, which makes people irrational."

Vodka is considered vulgar by the public, partly because it is too common. Only the regions that traditionally produce and consume vodka account for more than half of the cold regions in the northern hemisphere:

Now the production of vodka has expanded to Britain, France, the Netherlands, North America and Central Asia. Even countries such as Australia and China, which introduced vodka late, have their own brands. Vodka consumption is a global behavior, even in some areas where drinking is traditionally prohibited. Therefore, for hundreds of years, vodka has no shortage of infatuated fans. Chekhov criticized this practice in his works, but it did not affect that vodka became one of the symbols of Russian bad youth (Gopnik) after one hundred years.

Gopnik three-piece set:

Vodka, adidas, Russian national curse suka blyat.

As Chekhov said, money and vodka can make people dizzy. A person who can remain rational in the face of a large sum of money is as rare as a person who can calmly pry into the mystery in the face of the temptation of alcohol. The more irrational and lazy, the easier it is to beep. For those who are careful and patient enough, understanding a wine is not a problem, but they will not add the noise of stupid drinkers and will not try to be true to them.

In this way, just as low-key is often regarded as cowardice, vodka is misunderstood as "alcohol mixed with water" and "tasteless" In fact, most people who say this can't tell, and they don't even know that there are many subcategories under vodka. Wheat, rye and grape vodka have different tastes, and different filter materials also bring different tastes, and the water used for dilution also has different tastes. The original and light vodka with additives are not even the same as vodka cocktails. All they care about is colorful juice, vodka and alcohol itself.

In short, it is really bad to taste vodka with a drinking mentality. Even if vodka must be understood as alcohol and water, it should be flavoring alcohol and mineral water, not C2H6O and H2O.

Real vodka

To "understand" vodka, a low-key wine, we must first figure out how it is made.

The distillation of alcohol first appeared in the Middle East-Arak in the Middle East was the originator of all spirits. Eastern Europe is just near the Middle East, and technology soon spread to these areas. In addition, the climate in eastern Europe is not suitable for producing fruit-based wine, and it can only be used as grain wine. In this way, almost 1000 years ago, high-quality grain wine based on distillation technology began to appear in Poland and Russia today. However, the craft at that time was still relatively primitive. Although the name at that time was already "water" (the original meaning of vodka in Russian and Polish), the current vodka like water will not appear for hundreds of years.

/kloc-in the 0/8th century, the pureness of vodka increased to over 70, and similar modern vodka appeared in Eastern Europe and Northern Europe. At that time, the technology was not far from now (only now inferior vodka will be directly blended with industrially produced alcohol).

The production of vodka begins with the harvesting or picking of raw materials, which can be starch raw materials (wheat, rye, potatoes) or fruits. Firstly, the raw materials are ground, mixed with water, and then heated and saccharified. The product of this is a kind of "wine mud", which will be put in a fermentor and converted into alcohol by yeast fermentation. This process only takes about 2~4 days.

Next, the fermented wine mud will undergo the most critical distillation and filtration. Usually distillation will be repeated several times, and some exquisite manufacturers will even distill more than 20 times. The distilled raw pulp (about 95% at this time) will be mixed with water (usually spring water or glacier water) to the required degree, and then the impurities will be further removed by filtration. The filter material is traditionally charcoal, but some manufacturers will use some special materials, such as milk, minerals and even gold foil.

Milk can not only be used as a filter material, but also be brewed with milk.

For some brands, additives should be added after filtration to adjust the taste and remove the influence of filter materials on the ingredients. Common additives are sugar, glycerin and citric acid, all for softer taste. There are also flavors, but most old European manufacturers reject the practice of original vodka, because any additives will inevitably affect the taste, which is not conducive to retaining the original flavor of grain. On the contrary, North American manufacturers like to use additives to adjust the flavor, so that TTB has strict restrictions on the additive content of vodka:

It can be seen from the process that distillation and filtration will not completely remove the aroma of wine mud, and the water and filter materials used in blending will also have an impact on the wine body, so even the original vodka without additives actually has its own flavor, which is by no means "nothing but alcohol". Or vodka itself is a cocktail, but the ingredients are not like those enchanting bitches outside.

The key to understanding vodka lies in tasting it with proper methods and mentality, and discovering hidden levels and details from the plain appearance.

How to be a big shot? Vodka samples?

I've heard many people complain that they can't taste foreign wine, even vodka, whisky and rum. This problem is really easy to happen in China. Liquor has a strong aroma, and it is easy to feel that everything else is boring after drinking for a long time. Especially if you drink a lot of "liquid fermented" (actually pure blended) cheap liquor, you may not even be used to drinking dry liquor. It's just like some Sichuan cuisine lovers eat salt-fried vegetables and Jianghu dishes all the year round, and occasionally go to high-end restaurants and hotels to eat official dishes, which will also feel terrible, because they can't taste the materials and techniques of other chefs at all, and the dishes are "just like chewing wax".

"You can't get all the sea peppers. Why eat them?"

Vodka is just a typical example of tasting mystery from "light" Vodka is for feeling the details. China liquor is like fireworks, and the taste is a big scene in front of us; Vodka, on the other hand, is like watching the stars. You need to poke a group of bright spots outside in the middle of the night in cold weather, but in the end you will find it is not easy.

You can consider freezing the wine for three hours before you start, so that you will have a clear feeling when you drink it, and at the same time, you can reduce the impact of burning on the taste.

First, you need a Locke cup. Like whiskey, pour it to a third, then turn it slowly in your hand and smell it gently. If you feel a strong smell of wine at this time, unfortunately, you are likely to buy inferior products. The smell of good vodka will have different levels with inhalation, which is far from the smell of alcohol cotton balls.

When you smell enough, you can start tasting. Take a sip and let the wine flow out of your tongue. Take the smell of ethanol as the stage, looking for the looming sweet or salty taste, as well as the mineral sense of water and the taste of additives. You can add some mineral water to your wine to further stimulate those hidden elements.

If you want to match ingredients, caviar is the first choice. The mellow smell of alcohol just neutralizes the fishy smell of caviar, and the delicious taste of caviar complements vodka.

If you don't like caviar or don't have caviar on hand, fish, onions and brown bread are also good choices. Of course, the taste of black bread may not be used to in China, but you should know that many vodka is also made of the same raw materials as black bread.

Why do you drink vodka? Are you free?

After reading this big talk about how to understand the details of vodka, you may think that I am out of my mind. If you are in a hurry, you may say, "Why don't you just drink white wine, you fake foreign devil licking dogs?"

Admittedly, the beauty of fragrant vodka is a weakness, but this is also the value of vodka. Being able to discover beauty from humble places is a pleasure that many people miss. Force is not something that others can't afford, but something that others can't perceive even if they have money. Why is low-key X the most deadly? Because there is no need to scream, as long as you make a funny expression, it is already too deep for others to spy.

And to be a low-key and super perceptive boss, maybe you can start by drinking a good vodka.