?ubrówka [?u'brufka] ( listen) (Russian: ????????, Zubrovka; Belarusian: ????????, Zubro?ka), also known in English as Bison Grass Vodka, is a dry, herb-flavoured vodka that is distilled from rye and bottled at 40% alcohol by volume (80 US proof). Its flavour is unique and is described as having woodruff, vanilla, coconut, cinnamon and almond notes.
The rye distillate is flavoured with a tincture of bison grass (Hierochloe odorata), which also gives the spirit its yellowish color. This grass grows in the Bia?owie?a Forest and elsewhere. A blade of bison grass is traditionally placed in each bottle of ?ubrówka, though this is largely decorative.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, there are also new brands available in Poland, such as ?ubrówka Bia?a Wódka (white), ?ubrówka Czarna Wódka (black) and ?ubrówka Z?ota (gold).
Video ?ubrówka
Etymology
The words Zubrouka in Belarusian language and Zubrovka in Russian are the words for bison grass. In Polish, the word Turówka is used for the grass. The name comes from zubr (Polish: ?ubr, pronounced zhubr), the word for the European bison in many Slavic languages.
Maps ?ubrówka
History
The Zubrovka has been produced since at least the 16th century in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the region of the contemporary Polish-Belarusian border. By the 18th century it was one of the favorite raw drinks of nobility (szlachta) and peasantry alike.
In the 19th century, the famous Odessa-based brandy manufacturer Shustov began producing zubrovka.
In 1926, the company Polmos from Brze?? nad Bugiem (now Brest, Belarus) invented a method to mass-produce ?ubrówka, which was then copied by numerous companies worldwide, under a variety of brand names. The original distillery company in Brest (nationalized by the Soviets after 1939 and now known under the name Belalco) still produces Brestskaya Zubrovka. There are also brands of zubrovka in many countries including Lithuania (Stumbrin?), United States (Bison Vodka), Ukraine (????i???, Zubrivka), Germany (Grasovka and Blauer Bison), Russia (????????, Zubrovka), the Czech Republic (Zubrovka), and others.
The brand
Currently the brands "Zubrovka" and "?ubrówka" are registered by Sojuzplodoimport/Russia and the Polmos Bia?ystok company in Bia?ystok, Poland. However, ?ubrówka is considered a generic name for a type of liquor by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, so anyone may use the name for products in the United States, and the name has been used by various companies there.
Popular culture
- Zubrovka is mentioned in Moscow-Petushki, a pseudo-autobiographical postmodernist prose poem by Russian writer and satirist Venedikt Yerofeyev.
- The bison emblem (Mylvivä härkä, "roaring bull") of Fighter Squadron 11, Lapland Air Command, Finnish Air Force, originated from the label of Polmos ?ubrówka. It was introduced in 1941 as the emblem of PLeLv 46, on its Dornier 17 bombers, and later adopted by Fighter Squadron 11. Pilots of PLeLv 46 had seen the ?ubrówka label while picking up Do 17 bombers from Warsaw.
- ?ubrówka figures prominently in the movie Suzhou River.
- ?ubrówka is featured in W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge (and in the 1984 film adaptation).
- The name of the country ?ubrówka in the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel is named after this style of vodka.
- Navy SEAL Chris Kyle mentions it in his book American Sniper while working with the Polish GROM.
In the United States
The tincture of bison grass found in ?ubrówka is prohibited as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration because it contains coumarin, which showed hepatotoxic effects in rats and has a blood thinning effect. Importation of ?ubrówka was banned in 1978 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Canada has no similar regulations on coumarin, so the alcoholic drink is legal there.
When produced according to traditional methods (between one and two kilograms of grass per thousand litres of alcohol), ?ubrówka contains approximately 12 milligrams of coumarin per litre. In 1999, distilleries that were not connected with the Polish brand introduced lower quality reformulated versions of the product, sometimes using artificial flavours and colors, with the emblematic blade of grass in every bottle but "neutralised" so as to be coumarin-free. In 2011 the American licensee of the Polish company worked with Rémy Cointreau to introduce a new American formulation, which they called "?u".
In addition to the Coumarin problem, American authorities determined that the trademark on ?ubrówka brand was diluted and unenforceable, as it was a generic name, like "Aspirin".
Serving suggestions
Like most vodkas, ?ubrówka is usually served chilled on its own. A very popular alternative is mixing it with apple juice (a drink known in Polish as tatanka (Lakota for "American bison") or szarlotka (Polish for "apple cake"); known in the UK as a Frisky Bison; and in the US as a Polish Kiss). It is sometimes served over vanilla ice cream. Another common mixer is ginger ale. While a "Black Bison" is ?ubrówka mixed with black currant juice.
References
External links
- Polmos Bia?ystok official site
- Zubrowka.com--The official site for the Bison Grass Vodka
- Belalco--the official site of the Brest Distillery Company
- Zubrowka: Polish Vodka and Cultural Geographic Indicators
Source of the article : Wikipedia