AGE VERIFICATION

Crafting Artisan Vodka – Part 2 The previous article discussed the trend towards scaling down food production, this article explores the scaling up of vodka production within the global ethanol industry. The world is drinking more alcohol and much of it is vodka. Increasingly, vodka and other drinking spirits are being produced for a global market in ethanol plants, replacing traditional production in local small-batch distilleries. At Chopin Vodka, we take a distinctive approach to the way that vodka is made. We believe that vodka should be carefully crafted, not mass produced. We believe that the soil and the quality of the ingredients that we use in our distillation process matter. So, what is the ethanol industry and why is their spirit different from the vodka that we craft? The… Read More

Crafting Artisan Vodka – Part 1 This is the first of two articles that explore the duelling movements which are revolutionising the way we grow, buy and prepare our food – and also our drink. Food movements are often discussed in popular media, drink movements less so. Overall, the scale of agricultural production and food retail has increased; meanwhile, there has also been international support for food movements that prioritise the scaling down of food production. Locally produced, organic, Slow Food and a return to traditional plant varieties and production techniques are but a few examples of movements that oppose industrial large-scale production. While these food movements are now very familiar to us, these same trends have gone largely unnoticed in the production of alcoholic beverages. Perhaps drink trends are… Read More

Glass Canvas Competition Competition for students of the Polish Academies of Fine Arts, Warsaw & Gdańsk In Poland, both art and vodka transcend the boundaries of their respective industries – they are ingredients that contribute to our cultural identity. Throughout Poland’s history, art has been a visual language expressing an essence of the national spirit. In a similar way, vodka has grown to be an integral part of Poland’s cultural expression; where art has represented the Polish mind, vodka has embodied the soil – the body of the nation. Through a collaboration between Chopin Vodka and the Academies of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Gdańsk, vodka and art unite. In the “Glass Canvas” project, students will utilise the form of the Chopin Vodka bottle in realisation works of art and… Read More

Angels Prefer Vodka Miniature hand-crafted oak barrels sat empty on the windowsill of the distillery aging room, dwarfed by the massive ancient barrels around them which hold a treasure trove of the distilleries hard earned spirits; some of the recipes in the room have been resting soulfully for decades, others have just been born. Mr. Tadeusz Dorda, owner of Polmos Siedlce, the Polish distillery positioned at the epicentre of Europe that produces Chopin Vodka, was having an enthusiastic conversation with Master Distiller, Waldemar Durakiewicz. Pioneer and craftsman, together Mr. Dorda and Mr. Durakiewicz have brought Polish luxury vodka to the world from the historical birthplace of vodka. The conversation between the two revolved around ten one-litre casks made from Polish White Oak, which were being inspected and passed back and… Read More

Distilling Luxury amidst a Potato Crisis The shortage of potatoes during the 2015 harvest has been felt across the planet, including lower-than-average harvests in the UK, Western Europe and New Zealand. In Poland, a nation built on the back of the potato, the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Food Economy has announced that this year’s potato harvest will be down by as much as 1.5 million tonnes compared to 2014, a 20 percent decrease in production with the quality of the potatoes taking an additional blow. Perhaps the only other Polish food-stuff as iconic as the potato is its vodka, and at the Chopin Vodka distillery in Krzesk, near the town of Siedlce, nuzzled deep in the soil of Poland’s pristine Podlasie region, the two walk hand in hand. Throughout… Read More

In Pursuit of Terroir: the connoisseur cult of Chopin’s young potato vodka Galileo famously said that, “Wine is sunlight held together by water…” Master distillers and wine-makers go through excruciating lengths to bottle the characteristics of their local terroir in the drinks that they soulfully craft. Soil, sun, wind and water – terroir is perfectly understood in the production of wines, whiskies and cognacs (to name but a few), however, vodka is defined by the absence of these characteristics. The logic persists that the more vodka is refined, the more “smooth” and luxurious it will become. In fact, the definition of vodka in both the United States and the European Union declares that it must be “a neutral spirit” at least four times distilled “without distinctive character, aroma, taste or… Read More