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Flavored Vodka


sailorman9

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Absolutely.

Let me be a bit more verbose (as usual).

In order to place the words "distilled by" on the bottle, as opposed to either "produced by" or "bottled by" you must distill the product at your DSP and it must run out of the moneypiece at 190 or higher.

Whether you do that or not, the regs also allow you to make one or more distillation passes, and the result of those passes does not have to be at 190+. If you did not do a 190 pass on your equipment at some point in the processing, however, your label may not say "distilled by" even though all the spirit ran off your still....it simply failed to make the definitions.

And finally, regarding Vodka, the definition requires an additional standard beyond simply flowing at 190 proof. 190 proof gets you neutral spirit a.k.a. alcohol. In order to qualify as Vodka, the stuff must also have been either (a ) distilled, (b ) processed with charcoal, or (c ) other materials, so that it is without distinctive (1) character, (2) aroma, (3) taste, or (4) color.

Good luck,

Will

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I was under the impression that the final distillation had to be to 190 and that any subsequent distillations that resulted in a lower proof would change the classification of the spirit...e.g. frambois, gin.

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Chuck,

That single statement may be true, but who says you can't dilute the spirit in the belly of a little alembic and then distill it again? Might make for a nice tails cut...might even be the "secret sauce" in someone's recipe.

The point is that to qualify as VODKA, the spirit must reach a minimum of 190 proof somewhere in the processing, and no, John, it does not have to be the last step.

Will

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If you dilute vodka, add water, and run the mixture through a still the only thing you are distilling is water. You are not distilling, or redistilling, the vodka. The vodka has been distilled to the limit, no more distilling possible. If you dilute vodka with water, regardless of whether or not you run it through a still again for no apparent reason, you have not changed it legally unless you take it below 40% alcohol, and then it's diluted vodka. If you flavor it, then it's flavored vodka. If you use it as the base of a liqueur, it's a liqueur. It's no more complicated than that.

If you substitute straight whiskey for 20% of the vodka you have blended whiskey, but that's a whole nuther story.

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Grain neutral spirit (GNS) has to be distilled at or above 190 proof, and it can be made from any material; it has to be bottled at not less than 80 proof.

Vodka is GNS so distilled or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color (27 CFR 5.22 (a) Class 1). It also must be bottled at 80 proof or more.

When making flavored vodkas (using flavors) the GNS to which the flavor is added can "shock" the flavor and denature it if it is high proof (it also depends on the flavor). If the flavor is an alcohol solution, the best way to go is to add the flavor to the vodka at the same proof, and then adjust the proof. Flavored vodkas must be bottled at 60 proof or above.

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