The legal definition of Vodka in EU - Poland not happy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6767193.stm

not really a subject about Poland, but about the legal definition of vodka, that must interest Poles a lot, I think (and others)

interesting, surprised to see the UK was the second biggest, must be all those alcopops

from the link



You know, of course, that this means war
Poland should raise hell about this...

;)



Bloody beerwine sippers....They have no taste

;)

Vodka is basically diluted alcohol, you can make it from anything. Trying to restrict it is pointless.

this is wat i think

And you can make wine even from apples, and yet the countries from the so called "vodka belt" respected the plea from the countries from the so called "wine belt" and agreed to pass legislation that wine can be made only from grapes. It's a pity that the "wine" countries are not so keen to respect our traditions and heritage. :/

I don´t think is hurting the household names such as Chopin, Absolut, Finlandia but for new products from "vodka belt" this makes it harder

Wine tastes of what you make it from. Vodka has basically no taste at all, its a chemical produced from sugar. Remove the water and you can use it to drive a car or strip paint. The UK has been making grain alcohol for centuries as well (adding flavour and calling it Gin), so it as much a British tradition as anyone else's. Which is to say, nobody's.

People will still know where true Vodka comes from! Na Zdrowia, i'm going to have a Zubrowka right now!

Of course it has taste! I'm not going to lecture you what should be considered Gin and what not. The same with wine. But tradition of making wódka here in Poland goes back to early middle ages and it’s definitely a part of our culture. If you want to make a diluted alcohol from what not, fine. But don't call it vodka.

One thing that amazes me now is that if you go into a trendy bar or hotel bar in Warsaw, Poznan and Krakow and ask for a vodka tonic then often you get served Absolut, Finlandia or Smirnoff - lower quality than Polish vodka for higher price ! The great Polish vodkas are getting squeezed out of their own market - the ones that survived seem to be those in a fancy bottle like Chopin or Belvedere.

What happened to Zytnia ? or Pani Twardowska ? Luksusowa (my favorite) I still see occasionally but not often in big towns.

Because these places are full of tourists and they like to be served what they are used to, which is the crap they find in their native countries, the mediocre products invented for their own national markets according to their taste. Be it vodka or any other typical product from just any country, it's a common phenomenon.

I wanted to add this. Here (in Belgium), I'm used to drinking Zubrowka, Wysent and Zoladkowa which I buy from a small Polish shop. They are indeed cheaper and better than the Smirnoff, Eristoff and the like...

One night however I had ran out of vodka and was expecting friends at home. I ran to the night-shop on the corner and they only had Smirnoff. So I bought it and put it in the freezer to cool it efficiently, as I usually do with vodka. When my friends arrived, I removed the Smirnoff from the freezer and the liquid inside was completely frozen. So what's in the bottle ??? Please don't call it vodka.

LOL!!! (Although that must have been very awkward for you . . .)

Maybe that should be part of the EU's definition: a beverage distilled from etc. etc. with a high enough alcohol content that it will not freeze!

I just think it's kind of funny (in a sad way). The EU mandates uniform bananas, condoms, etc., but any old thing can be vodka? Give me a break.

Bollocks. Tourists want to try local drinks. The problem is trendy bars are trendy bars, which is snobby and expensive, basically. They can charge more for 'imported' because its unusual.

Yep, similar thing happened to me. It was then I noticed that the red label Smirnoff is only 37.5% Alc vol.

Here in the US I can buy Luksusowa, Chopin, and Belvedere even where I live currently (middle of nowhere). Though I believe the latter two are a bit overpriced and over-hyped, since Luksusowa is my favorite.

To the person who said vodka has no taste: you're about as refined as people who think Bud Light tastes great. Most Vodka drinkers can taste the difference between a Potato and a Grain vodka easily. Hell, since I drink it so often, you can probably pour ten shots of different vodka in front of me and i'll find the Luksu with no prob!