Vodka is on the up in the UK market, says Sarah Miller, as producers champion eco-credentials and flavourful character in some unique new releases...

Vodka is boring.

That’s what I used to think, and I wasn’t alone. In the ’90s and ’00s, before the gin boom toppled vodka from its pedestal, producers prized purity above all else. Vodkas were heavily filtered in a bid to remove impurities, but also stripped of flavour in the process. Remarkably, up until 2020, this neutrality was even enshrined in US law, which determined that vodka had to be “without distinctive character, aroma, taste or colour”.

That lack of character was fundamental to vodka’s versatility and success. On the one hand, it played perfectly into the fresh fruit martini trend that epitomised the 1990s cocktail renaissance. On the other, it was the spirit of choice to avoid detection at house parties. It fuelled the alcopop craze, and even more recently Whipshots (a vodka-infused flavoured whipped cream courtesy of American rapper Cardi B!).

Now, however, it’s the versatility of the spirit itself that UK producers are embracing as they look to capitalise on the gin boom by engaging its expanded and more knowledgeable consumer base. There’s no better time to rethink what vodka is. And what it can be.

Unlike most other spirits, vodka can be made anywhere in the world and from any agricultural raw material (that contains enough sugar to convert into alcohol), placing it perfectly to tap into current trends of provenance and local production. And, in turn, mitigating the cost and challenge of importing goods in the wake of Covid and Brexit, as well as reducing carbon impact.

Arguably the purest spirit, consisting only of water and alcohol and usually devoid of the distractions of additional botanicals or the effects of barrel ageing, there is a simplicity to vodka that makes it an ideal vehicle for a sustainable agenda.

West Dorset’s Black Cow were pioneers of this movement when they launched their vodka made from cow’s milk in 2012, a time – as they say – when it was “unusual for a vodka brand to ‘shout’ about its provenance and production method”. Since then, other distilleries have released their own sustainable spirits, such as Ramsbury’s Single Estate Wheat Vodka and The Oxford Artisan Distillery’s Rye Vodka created with locally grown heritage grain, and yet more are rethinking their raw materials.

Like Black Cow, Blacklion Rare Sheep’s Milk Vodka is made from whey; a by-product of cheese-making that would otherwise go to waste. Meanwhile, Arbikie’s climate-positive Nadàr Vodka is made from locally grown peas (helping to contribute to its carbon footprint of -1.53kg CO2e per 700ml bottle), and Discarded’s vodka is made from distilled grape skins and alcohol left over from the wine-making process. And, in a move that reflects the current pressure on gin producers to diversify their range, Hayman’s (whose origins date back 160 years) launched Respirited Vodka, which is created using repurposed grain spirit left over from the distillery’s production process.

While sustainability was the driving force behind these brands using alternative raw materials, the result in each instance is a more characterful and texturally interesting vodka.

With a huge consumer market that has developed a taste for flavoursome spirits – but which might also be ready to move on from gin – the last year or two has seen an explosion in vodkas that put character at the forefront of their product and seek to bridge the gap between the two categories.

While some (such as Pod Pea Vodka and Pleasant Land Distillery’s Eve vodka made with 100% English apples) focus on delivering the flavour of their base ingredient, others such as Sapling and 58 and Co use additional ingredients like wonky fruit, waste coffee granules and rescued olive oil to add flavour to their British wheat-based spirits.

There will undoubtedly always be a place for neutral spirits in classic cocktails, but with characterful and eco-friendly alternatives prompting growth in the category, there’s no excuse for accusing vodka of only ever being boring again.

Sarah Miller is a UK-based spirits writer, judge and consultant.
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