One of the most basic neutral drinks is vodka, which is also a key part of many classic cocktails. Even though vodka is made all over the world, it is most closely linked to producers in the "vodka belt" countries of Russia, Poland, Sweden, and Finland.

What Is Vodka?

Vodka is a distilled liquor that is usually clear and tasteless. It can be drunk neat (by itself) or as the base spirit in many drinks, such as the Cosmopolitan, the Bloody Mary, and the Vodka Martini. While no one knows for sure where vodka came from, some historians think that the distilled spirit was first used for medical reasons in Eastern Europe, possibly in Russia or Poland, in the 1400s.

Water and ethanol made from fermenting plant grains (like wheat, sorghum, or rye) are the only things that are used to make plain vodka. A lot of vodka makers add different base ingredients (like sugar beets and potatoes) and botanicals and spices to their liquor to make it taste different. After being fermented and distilled, vodka is filtered and refined to get rid of any particles and make it smooth.

What do you use to make vodka?

Making vodka is very easy; you only need a few things to make a bottle of vodka:

Most alcohol is made from a fermentable base, which is a food product that will go through a fermentation process. Many people think that potato vodka is the most traditional way to make the booze, but the most common way to make vodka is with a mix of cereal grains, like wheat, sorghum, or rye. After fermentation, this base turns into ethanol. To make vodka, vodka makers strain the solid mixture to get pure alcohol that is liquid.

Water: Vodka is made by distilling booze and then adding water to it to get the right alcohol by volume. There must be at least 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) in a drink for it to be called vodka in the United States. In the European Union, vodka must have at least 37.5% alcohol by volume.

Additional ingredients that are not required: Regular vodka has no taste, but some brands add herbs, spices, or flavorings during or after distillation to give their liquor a unique flavor.

How Vodka Is Made

To make vodka, most people follow a few simple steps:

1. Mix the base items together. People who make vodka mix grains with water and yeast to make a base that can be fermented. The grains could be wheat malt, dried maize, or rye. This is sometimes called "vodka mash." They then heat and stir the mixture to make sure it's well mixed and ready to brew.

2. Let the base ferment. The base mixture is then put away for a certain amount of time, usually between one and two weeks, so that it can fully mature. Between this step and the next, the chemicals start to break down, making ethanol or ethyl alcohol, a natural, simple alcohol.

Step 3: Strain the mix. After the fermentation process is done, the liquid is strained away from the solids that have been fermented. They'll throw away the solids and make vodka from the juice (ethanol).

4. Strain. The process of distillation cleans a liquid by cooking it and turning it into vapor. The vapor is then collected as it returns to a liquid form. It is thought to be purer and more alcoholic because it leaves behind more impurities when it disappears. Different vodka makers have different ways of distilling. Some may only distill once or twice, while others may need to distill and redistill many times to get a purer product. If they're making flavored vodka, they may also add botanicals during distillation. Some soak their botanicals in ethanol before or between distillations, while others use a special still to add botanicals during distillation.

5. Get the goods and sort them. When ethanol is distilled, it changes the liquid that is left behind, which is different from what vodka makers have. The first 35% of a distillation process makes an ethanol product that may be highly volatile or toxic and includes methanol or acetone. The "foreshots" and "heads" are the containers of this liquid, and distillers usually throw them away. The "hearts," which are the best product, are in the next 30 percent. The last 35 percent are the "tails," which aren't pure but can be saved and distilled again to make a little more product.

6. Clean. A lot of vodka makers add an extra step to their process called filtration because regular vodkas don't have any taste and are smooth. Once they know what the distillate's hearts are, they'll put it through a big filtration system (usually with charcoal or carbon) to make sure the end product tastes great and is clean.

7. Add water. Once the distillers have their product, they will test the alcohol by volume (ABV) and slowly add water to the vodka until it reaches the right level of alcohol.

8. Bottle. Bottling is the last step. This is where vodka makers put the finished product into bottles with labels on them.