Keeping Your Spirits Up

(Article - as seen in Somerset Living Food & Drink - Nov 2018 Issue pg. 51)

Auschwitz might not be everyone’s idea of a top destination for their birthday celebration, but it had been top of my bucket list for some time.

Krakow is the perfect short break destination. Easy to get to, inexpensive, friendly, and with lots to see and do, and vodka to sample. Lots of it.

I don’t usually drink vodka, but committed to the task in hand, in just four days I ploughed my way through 53 vodkas. Such a sacrifice for research.

All vodkas are not equal, many bearing little resemblance to the colourless liquid most often consumed – in the UK Smirnoff is the preferred brand, with 62 per cent of market share.

Vodka can be produced from anything that ferments, which is then distilled to increase alcohol content. Keen to share my new-found enthusiasm, I brought home these for a charity tasting.

SOPLICA ORZECH LASKOWY

Hazelnut – Soplica has been producing vodka since 1891. This flavoured vodka uses hazelnuts gathered from nearby forests. Verdict: Liquid Nutella 30%abv. £15.99 (50cl.)

KRZESKA ZIOLOWA

Herbs – an aromatic combination of pure vodka and over 20 different herbs in a beautiful camphor-shaped bottle. Full of character, it is pale amber, redolent of tobacco, plums, vanilla, and meadow herbs. Verdict: Smooth, elegant after dinner drink, 40%abv. £52.74

DWOR SIERAKOW PEIPRZEM WODKA SMAKOW

Pepper – pale translucent green, with an intense aroma of freshly ground pepper, mint, thyme, marjoram, juniper, and bay. On the palate, it is intensely peppery, with a sweetish, spicy finish. Verdict: Aromatic, smooth, pepper, 40%abv. £15

SASKA DEBOWA

Czysta (Clear) – delicate and translucent, using premium grains, only natural ingredients and crystal-clear water. It owes its character to the extract of American oak and slow maceration. Verdict: Pure, but lacking aroma, 40%abv. £5 (50cl.)

GOLDEN ROSE WALDEMAR DURAKIEWICZ
Rose – selected flowers and fruits from Podlasie, with an extraordinary rose taste and aroma. All stages of production are carried out by hand. Verdict: Rose dominates, with a slight sweetness, 8%abv. £52

ZUBROWKA BISON GRASS SMAKOWA

Bison Grass – Białowieza, the last primeval forest in Europe, is home to the continent’s only bison herd and the aromatic bison grass, which is harvested by hand. The infusion adds smoothness and freshness to the base spirit. Verdict: Pleasant herbal notes, 37.5%abv. £20

SLIWOWICA LELOWSKA

Moonshine – Made in Łacko, near Nowy Sacz, struggling to achieve legal status, this traditional Polish Highlander’s tipple was perfected by a Jew killed by Nazis, whose distillery was closed by the Soviets. Traditionally distilled in small quantities by “home producers”, it is officially illegal but
widely praised, and apparently the fourth strongest alcoholic drink worldwide, winning international awards. There is resistance to making production legal as local farmers each have their own secret recipe. Verdict: Paint stripperpowerful, not for the faint-hearted, 72%abv. £30.

CHOPIN POTATO VODKA
Potato – the secret of James Bond’s Vesper Martini. Four times distilled from Polish potatoes, it has subtle notes of vanilla and green apple. Creamy and well-rounded, with an earthiness and a long, clean finish. Verdict: Oily on the palate, 40%abv. £36.47(50cl.)

ZUBROWKA CZARNA WODKA
Black – using a unique charcoal filtration process from Białowieza oaks and water drawn from springs in the Białowieza Forest, produces this neutral spirit. Verdict: Pure, smooth, super premium vodka… 40%abv. £35 (50cl.)

Dumplings are the perfect thing to soak up alcohol, and I can thoroughly recommend Pierogi making with Urban Adventures. Touring the market to buy the ingredients, without being able to speak a word of Polish, was an adventure, and our tutor was amazing.