Flavoured vodka

Flavoured vodka is its own category in the EU: aromatised vodka, category 31 in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/787. The description is short. It covers vodka that has been given a dominant flavour that does not come from the raw materials.

The vodka may be sweetened, blended, flavoured, matured or coloured. The minimum alcohol content is 37.5 percent, as with ordinary vodka. The legal name may be the name of the predominant flavour combined with the word vodka. That is why names such as vanilla vodka or lemon vodka appear on the label.

The difference is mainly in sugar and alcohol. Regular vodka (category 15) is made from agricultural alcohol from potatoes, grains or other agricultural raw materials. A maximum of 8 grams of sweetener per litre is allowed. Flavoured vodka may go up to just under 100 grams per litre.

The liqueur territory begins at 100 grams. For most types, a liqueur (category 33) has at least 100 grams of sugar per litre and an alcohol content of 15 percent or more. A sweet drink based on vodka with, say, 20 percent alcohol is therefore legally not a vodka, even if the bottle looks like one. On the label you can see which name the producer uses.

Vanilla vodka is flavoured vodka in which vanilla is the dominant aroma. The same rules apply as for any flavoured vodka: at least 37.5 percent alcohol and less than 100 grams of sugar per litre. How much sugar it actually contains differs per brand.

A well-known example is Absolut Vanilia from Sweden. According to the producer it is made in Åhus from Swedish winter wheat and water from its own springs, with natural flavour, and has 38 percent alcohol. Absolut itself names it as a replacement for ordinary vodka in an espresso martini and as the base for a long drink with cola.

Bison grass vodka is a Polish flavoured vodka with an extract of bison grass. The full name is protected as a geographical indication: Wódka ziołowa z Niziny Północnopodlaskiej aromatyzowana ekstraktem z trawy żubrowej, or herbal vodka from the North Podlasie Lowland with bison grass extract.

The product specification requires that the grass is harvested in that area and steeped for a few days in water and alcohol. The base is grain spirit; the finished product has at least 37.5 percent alcohol and at most 4.5 grams of sugar per litre. The producer, Polmos Białystok, decorates each bottle by hand with a blade of grass.

Flavoured vodka is mostly used wherever ordinary vodka goes, with the aroma as an extra layer. Producers themselves provide recipes for this. Absolut suggests vanilla vodka in an espresso martini, in a passion fruit cocktail and as a highball with cola or with apple juice and ginger beer.

Because the alcohol content is the same as that of regular vodka, the ratio in a recipe stays the same. If you use a sweet vodka liqueur with less alcohol, that ratio does change. So check the alcohol content on the label.

In the shop there are bottles from, among others, Puschkin, Pravda, Absolut, Nemiroff, Smirnoff, Trojka, Zubrowka, Eristoff, Flügel and Petrikov. They come from the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, Switzerland, France and Georgia.

The flavours vary: Absolut Passionfruit and Absolut Vodka Lime, Ciroc Limonata, Grey Goose L’Orange, Nemiroff Bold Orange, Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Blossom and Eristoff Red. Not every bottle with vodka on the label legally counts as vodka; if in doubt, read the designation. If you are looking for a bottle for a cocktail or a gift, call the shop or drop by at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.