The History of Polish Vodka Its origin, name and distillation

The Cultured Traveler ^ | Marian Hanik

[dfwgator]

The maker is J.A. Baczewski...also not a typical Austrian name.

Sounds like a typical Chicago name though. :)

[tortoise]

The french also have a Citidel Gin. Very tastey.

Yech. I have yet to taste a French Gin that has a particularly good flavor in either dry or botanical styles. The neutral spirit is usually of good quality in French gin, but the flavor is typically off and of mediocre character.

Depending on your particular style preferences, high-end UK and Dutch gins pretty much lock up the market in the quality department. But if the French come out with something new in gin, I will always buy a bottle to check it out.

[KC Burke]

It is my understanding that what the Dutch call "dutch gin" is closer to good polish vodka as it doesn't use the juniper essence that makes British and American gin so distinctive. A dutch acquaintance of my youth used to disparage the American gins.

[KC Burke]

perhaps you can advise if my comment at 23 is accurate from the standpoint of a Dutch expert? LOL

[Holicheese]

I am always willing to be the guinee pig for testing some new vodke/gin/rum/tequilla/whiskey/burboun/etc...
Black, white, red or brown...I am an equal opportunity drinker!

[Feiny]

Try Tito's Vodka made in Austin Texas...that's right TEXAS VODKA! Buy it at Trader Joes for about $18. Delish!

[battlegearboat]

Introducing the "Big Fellow", Michael Collins Irish Whiskey.

Bought my first bottle last week.

Prefer the blend to the single malt.

This from a loyal Jameson man.

[Feiny]

http://www.titos-vodka.com/

[fanfan]

Thanks for that post Allegra, I never would have guessed that happens.

2 weeks?
Where are you headed this time?

[tortoise]

It is my understanding that what the Dutch call "dutch gin" is closer to good polish vodka as it doesn't use the juniper essence that makes British and American gin so distinctive.

The Dutch are strongly biased toward "botanical" styles that are light on the juniper and strong on other natural ingredients, and they do use high-quality neutral spirits as a base (vodka is made from the same, but with much more subtle flavoring added). For this reason, high-quality dutch gins tend to be both rich in flavor and very smooth (Van Gogh Gin is a canonical example of the Dutch style you can get in the US) since the juniper berries can impart quite a bit of harshness. The style of gin known as "Genever" found in places like Belgium and Germany, is the polar opposite of the popular Dutch style and sufficiently harsh that few people actually drink it.

UK gins have a number of distinct and refined sub-styles, most famously London Dry. These have more juniper and less other stuff, giving them that distinctive sharp clean taste in better variants. I tend to drink a lot of the London Dry myself because the spirit tends to be pretty smooth despite the juniper bite. The brits also make some somewhat popular sweet gin styles that I find repulsive.

A dutch acquaintance of my youth used to disparage the American gins.

While I have tried many American gins, the quality is frankly inferior to the imports for the money. The severe restrictions on owning and operating a distillery in the US make it very difficult to break into an established market already dominated by the Europeans.

I personally tend to drink Old Raj (London Dry), Van Gogh (Dutch), or Hendrick's (Scottish botanical) depending on the mood -- never mixed, always neat. It is a lot easier to find good gin in the US than it used to be even six or seven years ago.

[Cagey]

I'll take your suggestion and see if I can find Tito's.

I really do like Grey Goose but it's pricey and I like bargains. I did find a very good Canadian Vodka that goes for about 21 dollars a bottle. It's called "Pearl".

However, I generally like Texans way more than I do Canadians so I'll be searching for Tito's.

[curiosity]

Hey! You forgot my favorite, Zubrowka!

[Holicheese]

I found out that Jameson's is owned by a French company. I really dig Jameson's but I have been buying Powers lately.
I will have to pick up a bottle of MC Irish Whiskey.

[rmlew]

These are all good Vodkas. I learned to drink on Luksusowa and was positively stunned with the horrendous quality of some of the more common vodkas. Smirnoff, Popov, and Absolut are actually painful. I refuse to even mix these.
Frankly all of the Baltic countries have at least one brand of vodka, which can be drunk on its own.
I just went liquor shopping, so I have Luksusowa, Chopin, Wyborowa, Dansk, Svensk, Finlandia, and Ciroc (French vodka made from grapes.)

I hate to say it, but the Ciroc is probaly the smoothest of these.
Ron
PS. The only descent American vodka was Peconic, which is no longer produced.

[rmlew]

You do realize that the Austrian Empire encluded Galicia (Galis, Haliz...) after 1772 and only relinquished it in 1919.

[Sender]

Now I do. Thanks.

[curiosity]

Potatoes replaced grain...

Sorry, but that's not true. Some of the best wodka is made from grain. Wyborowa is grain. I'm pretty sure Belvedere is too.

In fact, I prefer grain vodka to potato vodka. It's drier.

[battlegearboat]

John Jameson, a Scot (god bless ‘em), moved to Dublin in the 1770s and soon acquired a local distillery. He went on to found one of the first legal distilleries in Ireland in 1780. He continued to acquire more and more distilleries throughout Ireland and once claimed to have well over a million gallons of whiskey aging under the streets of Dublin. John Jameson & Son merged with rivals John Power & Son and Cork Distillers Company. The Irish Distillers Group was later acquired in 1989 by Pernod Ricard against other companies (Gilbey’s and Guinness). Ricard also owns the Bushmills Distillery.

Found the above on Google.

Michael Collins Blend is super smooth. The single malt Michael Collins taste like scotch.

My friend in Ireland is pissed that MC is available in the US while being unavailable in Ireland at this time.

[Holicheese]

I will have to get a bottle of each and have a taste test. If it takes me all night, I will decide which i like better!!
I am a team player!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Very interesting. Thanks for the ping.