Unclear on the concept.

[jbsegal]

Unclear on the concept.,
originally uploaded by JBSegal.

'distilled from grapes' equals 'brandy', you gits.

Comments

[kirkcudbright.livejournal.com]

Well, actually, vodka is a neutral spirit, usually distilled from grain or potatoes (with have not much in common except carbohydrates). But there's "Vermont Gold" vodka, distilled from maple syrup, and I'm pretty sure there's a cane sugar vodka. Brandy is distilled *wine*. Vodka is typically distilled multiple times, for both purity and alcohol content. If you can taste the grape in this, it's probably not vodka-quality.

[feydn2.livejournal.com]

Your incredibly appropriate use of the word "gits" made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Thank you.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

My pleasure. :)

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

I suspect the bottler knows the difference, but the customers don't.

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Brandy is distilled from wine, not directly from grapes. I must say, i'm curious whether vodka from grapes is any good.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

I believe Ciroc is another vodka distilled from grapes, which is quite enjoyable very very cold.

[dalesql.livejournal.com]

It's from California the land of mudslides, brushfires, race riots, hollywood, and charismatic shills getting elected governor. They get nearly everything else wrong. Why not vodka too?

[kalessin.livejournal.com]

Vodka can be distilled from anything that produces fermentation suitable for distilling. Just distill (and, in modern production, filter) to a fare-thee-well, until you get the spirit up over about 96% ethanol, then cut with water down to drinkable concentration, and what you have is vodka. This distillation should remove all flavor from the spirit (less careful distillation leaves behind impurities that add nasty flavors or are possibly toxic).

Potatoes and grain are the most traditional for production, but grapes can also be used, and grapes sound better for marketing reasons.

By-the-by, whiskey is distillation of grain spirits to a lower level, with less filtration and other efforts to retain flavor. However, most people don't realize that most whiskies, even the most expensive scotches, have some form of caramel coloring in them to make them "look" like whiskey.

[ceo]

I think a lot of the flavor and color comes from the wood they're aged in, plus whatever was aged in the barrel before. Scotch has to be aged in used barrels, most often bourbon barrels, which have to be new for bourbon, making for a brisk transatlantic trade in used barrels.

[volund.livejournal.com]

Most brandy and whiskey are aged in barrels of some sort in order to reinforce and add flavor. Even unaged whiskey (a.k.a. moonshine) is supposed to have some flavor.

Vodka, on the other hand, is processed to take away as much flavor as possible. In fact, the descriptions I've seen of vodka manufacture stress the quality of the water as being of major importance in imparting what flavor/smoothness/etc. a vodka might possess.

I imagine you could make vodka from sugar cane, mezcal, plums, apples or cherries as well, although why anyone would want to go through that effort and make vodka rather than rum, tequila, slivovitz, calvados or kirschwasser is beyond me.

This does beg the question as to whether this Californian vodka is actually any good, or exists simply to amuse those of us who are aficionados of such details.

[volund.livejournal.com]

Also, it says "distilled from California's finest grapes." I'm sure it could be distilled from their crappiest grapes, and there'd be no difference. All hail the Gods of Marketing ...