The politics of vodka
"A vodka war has broken out in Europe. On one side are traditionalists - in Poland, Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries - who argue that only spirits made exclusively from cereals, potatoes and sugar-beet molasses are worthy of the name "vodka." On the other are distillers - in Italy, France, Britain, and the Netherlands - who are fighting for a more liberal definition of vodka. They contend that vodka's taste does not derive from its ingredients. After all, James Bond specified that his vodka martini should be "shaken, not stirred." He never insisted it be made from grain or potatoes. "
Read the complete article here
Read the complete article here
posted by Abs at 10:58 AM
3 Comments:
I can't imagine James Bond drinking "vodka" made of beetroot melassa or other "sideproduct". He would drink only highest quality.
In one of the films ("Tomorrow Never Dies") you could see the brand of vodka he was drinking. And if I'm right, it was Smirnoff.
4:29 PM
if it was Smirnoff then it is a truly unfortunate piece of product placement because Smirnoff is terrible. In any case, I agree that the James Bond argument is stupid.
Vote 1 the true and only vodka.
I think that this is particularly hypocritical coming from the French who retain exclusive rights to the word "champagne" which is only from a certain village... whereas everyone else has to call it "sparkling wine". Bah. I can't think of any appropriate pop culture reference but I'm sure most people who order champagne do not insist on it being from one particular village.
5:32 PM
Well, with champagne it's a little bit different. It's part of protection of regional product's names, like for example other alcohols (cognac or bordeaux, etc.) or italian mozarella and parmesan, and many other "regional" products protected esp. in EU.
With vodka, since it's produced in many countries almost all over the world, no particular country owns the "brand". But it's still the matter, that it would be cheaper than potato or rye vodka. So I understand why central and eastern european countries want to have definition of vodka.
IMHO: Personally, I support. For me it's only true potato or rye vodka ;)
5:50 PM
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home