Vodka is the number one spirit in the world today with thousands of international brands on the market Over 520 million cases of vodka are enjoyed globally every year which equals to nearly 200 bottles of vodka consumed every second. Vodka now accounts for nearly a quarter of all spirits sold in the world.
So where did the story of vodka begin? It's widely accepted that the name vodka derives from the Slavic word for water; whether it's “vada” in Russian or “wada” in polish, vodka is an affectionate diminutive version of the word which literally means little water. It's unclear which country first widely used the term but the earliest recorded use of the word is in a polish document dated 1405. The tradition of making vodka developed in Russia and Poland during the 14th century. It soon extended across the rest of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. This migration of knowledge created a band of countries known as the “vodka belt”. It was among this collection of nations including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Sweden, Finland and Norway that the tradition and technology of vodka production developed over the centuries. Vodka was traditionally produced from indigenous ingredients typically rye or wheat and later potatoes. Today vodka is made all over the world using any number of a wide variety of ingredients ranging from grapes to sugar beet molasses. In 2008, the European Union placed stricter controls on how vodka must be made and labelled, recognizing the traditional methods of the vodka belt country's. Vodka must be made from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin which has been distilled to a minimum of 96 percent ABV. It cannot be diluted with water to an ABV below 37.5%. Any spirit made purely from cereal grains or potatoes can be simply labeled as vodka. Spirit made from any other source must state the source clearly on the label.
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