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Post by joanzaniskey on Feb 17, 2007 11:29:00 GMT -7
Con- Apology accepted. Now lets get your opinion on vodka superiority Polish, Russian, French, Dutch, British, Swedish, Icelandic. Please note that I have excluded American from this grouping. My personal favs are Pinnacle(French) and Stoly(Russian) and Chopin(Polish). Taste and quality aside they all produce the same end results, attitude adjustment, hopefully for the better.
Leslie, I have not seen Zubrowka here as yet. I live in semi rural Long Island and though only 80 miles from NYC it sometimes takes a bit for new brands to make it here. I do not like the flavored vodkas.
Charles, How gallant! And no, you are not intrusive.
Joan
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Post by leslie on Feb 17, 2007 11:58:13 GMT -7
Czesc Joan Zubrowka is a well-established brand so I am surprised you have not come across it - for my tastes I place it first, followed by Wyborowa- yes Chopin is high on the list (I love the bottle, and the box with the openings!) Leslie
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Post by constantine on Feb 17, 2007 13:56:30 GMT -7
Con- Apology accepted. Now lets get your opinion on vodka superiority Polish, Russian, French, Dutch, British, Swedish, Icelandic. Please note that I have excluded American from this grouping. My personal favs are Pinnacle(French) and Stoly(Russian) and Chopin(Polish). Taste and quality aside they all produce the same end results, attitude adjustment, hopefully for the better. I am not quite russian in this question because any trace of alcohol irritates me, even in beer and wine. Ironicaly, due to the fact that vodka is drunk by one gulp, I can use only it . Yes Zubrovka is wide spread in Russia too, but we have wide range of choice of this article. Wide known brand Stolichnaya now is rarely used in Russia. I prefer Flagman, but some gourmets like Pertsovka (vodka which drawed on pepper). Though, vodka must contain 40% of alcohol by volume, we have some marks with extra level, Posolskaya (Ambassador's) contains 60%.
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Post by leslie on Feb 17, 2007 16:32:09 GMT -7
Personally I think to throw a glassful of wodka down the throat in one gulp is an insult to the wodka. Wodka, its taste and its feeling is there to be be savoured. I think that the one gulp method is the Russian-preferred one: am I right in thinking that the other method is the Polish one? I must say I have never observed any Poles gulping it down in one go. I may be wrong. Leslie
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Feb 17, 2007 17:06:25 GMT -7
Wojtek and Joan How surprised I am that neither of you have mentioned THE Polish wodka (in my opinion and judging by the price in this country, so think the importers) Zubrowka - Bison wodka. It has a definite taste but is not one of those horrid flavoured wodkas. In a supermarket in Sheffield, a 75cl bottle costs 15GBP - that is at current rates, $29 or 87 zloty. Last november in Krakow I bought a litre bottle for 33 zloty (that would cost about 20GBP in the UK!). Leslie (I haven't had a wodka since 25 November 2006 - forbidden by my doctors!) Leslie, A couple of years ago, my daughter had a Polish boyfriend from Bialystok and every time he went home for a visit, he would bring us back a bottle of Zubrowka which I believe is made in Bialystok. It has a long blade of bison grass in the bottle! I'm not a big drinker, but I did share a drink of this with him. He mixed it with apple juice! Jeanne
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Post by kaima on Feb 17, 2007 18:05:51 GMT -7
Leslie,
I agree about tossing it down. I believe I have writing in other posts about how I sip mine. The family and others have learned to accept this, or I have learned to express it so that it is acceptable, but it does work!
Tossing it down is good if you want to get drunk, but I actually enjoy the taste, and the taste of slivovice as well. It was interesting to see cousins toos it down while I sipped the same amount. For whatever reason I woke up feeling fine, while one fo them had a headache. I guess it was their non-alcoholic chasers.
The Slovak product "St. Nicolaus" is a good vodka.
Kai
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Post by joanzaniskey on Feb 17, 2007 22:19:29 GMT -7
To all, I remember watching the one gulps that went down the the throat of my Polish father and our relatives. And this was not the classy sipping vodka we drink today. Mostly American rye whiskey. Yuck! These men were hard drinkers. To me, the most interesting aspect of the one gulp, was the tilt of the head and the apparent downing of the booze without a swallow. Viewed a polish film circa late 1940's on you tube where the main characters wre drinking in a bar and they ordered vodka with chasers. The vodka was neat and the chaser was beer. Saw the same, quick hand to mouth action. I always thought the hard stuff followed by a beer chaser was called a boilermaker in The U.S. Is there a comparable terminolgy in Poland? Or Russia? Joan
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Post by constantine on Feb 18, 2007 2:14:39 GMT -7
Personally I think to throw a glassful of wodka down the throat in one gulp is an insult to the wodka. Wodka, its taste and its feeling is there to be be savoured. I think that the one gulp method is the Russian-preferred one: am I right in thinking that the other method is the Polish one? I must say I have never observed any Poles gulping it down in one go. I may be wrong. Leslie Ha! Once, I observed fantastic method which used by our drunkards. One of them took a botle of vodka, stired it up and knocked it back to the mouth. I saw the vodka getting a whirl and droping through neck to his stomach without any gulp, all 0,5L!!!
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Post by joanzaniskey on Feb 18, 2007 14:25:46 GMT -7
Con. Is the guy still alive? Joan
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Post by hollister on Feb 18, 2007 16:54:07 GMT -7
Leslie, A couple of years ago, my daughter had a Polish boyfriend from Bialystok and every time he went home for a visit, he would bring us back a bottle of Zubrowka which I believe is made in Bialystok. It has a long blade of bison grass in the bottle! I'm not a big drinker, but I did share a drink of this with him. He mixed it with apple juice! Jeanne When you mix Zubrowka with apple juice it is called a Tatanka. Not saying how I know that.
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jeanne
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Post by jeanne on Feb 18, 2007 18:14:31 GMT -7
Holly,
Thanks for that tidbit of information. Now I can say I've had a Tatanka. The boyfriend said, "This is how you drink it." Who was I to argue with an authority from the city where it's made?
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Post by leslie on Feb 18, 2007 18:22:33 GMT -7
Sorry, Tatanka is revolting. There is only one way to drink wodka and that it is with no additions even ice - it should be kept in the freezer anyway! Leslie
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bujno
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Post by bujno on Feb 19, 2007 7:44:20 GMT -7
Buj, I have tasted Wyborowa never the other, probably because it's not available here. The Chopin is quite good but pricey. The French of all nations has produced some excellent vodkas. The problem with Chopin vodka is not the price, alhough yes it is high. The problem is they made it so excellent and smooth that it has no taste anymore. As to French vodka or Italian grappa (made from grapes). May I respond indirectly by asking - if you want to have some cognac are you looking for Polish-made one?
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bujno
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Post by bujno on Feb 19, 2007 8:04:33 GMT -7
Leslie, I didn't mention ¯ubrówka as teh question was about 'vodka'. It is all because my first language is Polish, and when we say 'wódka' we mean 'wódka czysta' or white vodka. When we say wódka kolorowa or wódka gatunkowa then the flavoured vodkas come to our mind. Yes, ¯ubrówka is excellent. If you like this type of vodka you should try (when the doctors suspend their 'no') less known specialty called Zozworówka Wódka Starzyka. It is sometime made with rosemary as ¯ubrówka is made with '¿ubrówka'= 'european bison grass'. ¯ubrówka originates from Bia³owie¿a Forests, Zozworówka from the Beskidy mountains. And Bia³owie¿a is in Bia³ystok region, Jeanne have mentioned (and it goes well with apples or apple juice). Sipping vodka - sorry Leslie and other sippers. To sip vodka is an equivalent to drinking cognac in one gulp down the throat. It is not about getting drunk. In order to get drunk one has to drink to much or drink without zak¹ska (small amount of spicy food eaten after each shot). The real taste of vodka is when you drink small amount if it , like 25 cc in one gulp, but WITH a swallowing movements. ANd some of the vodkas have to be extremely chilled (like Wyborowa), some chilled only slightly (like Chopin or Bia³a Dama). If you want to sip - use cognac. Or brandy. Or whisk(e)y on the rocks. Disclaimer - these were the tips of a wine-drinker. No responsinility for vodka misusage is taken.
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Post by joanzaniskey on Feb 19, 2007 11:51:25 GMT -7
Buj, You didn't answer my question about the wine industry in Poland. Is there one? Since you are a wine drinker, thought you might know. As to merits of choosing French over Polish vodka, it's simply a matter of taste. Right now, vodka is THE trendy spirit in the US. Prior it was single malt scotch whiskey. Everytime a new vodka is introduced in the US(especially if it's pricey) it becomes a fad and a status symbol if you drink it. Have you ever tried a French product called HQ? This will no doubt turn all the vodka purists off. It is a combo of vodka, cognac and tropical fruit flavors and is blue in color. I sampled it at tasting at a liquor store on LI. It was offered by a sales rep for the US distributor. She was a tall attractive Russian woman( reminded me of Kournokova). How is that for a knockout combo of flavors and nations? Joan
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