Finns surprise our tourists not only with love for strong alcohol, but also with the culture of its use. The severe beauty of northern nature, the cold and the polar night determine the tendency of the inhabitants of this country to something hot. Vodka, liquors and all kinds of tinctures have been made here for a long time. And now, modern technology and strict quality control make Finland one of the main exporters of distillates in the world.
This article focuses on only one alcoholic beverage from a Scandinavian country. This is Finland vodka. It refers to the premium price segment. Her brand is recognizable all over the world. A bottle of such alcohol is not cheap. What are the tastes of Finland vodka in addition to the classic, what are the volumes of containers, how to distinguish a fake from a real drink - read this article.
How to create a product
Many thousands of years ago, the Earth was affected by global glaciation. What does this have to do with Finland vodka? The most immediate. The retreating glacier left behind a unique spring with clear melt water. It is on its basis that Finland vodka is made. Producer Finlandia Vodka Worldwide LTD settled in the small town of Kosenkenva in the south of the country, and takes water for products from the nearby village of Rajamäki, where a wonderful spring springs.
The second, and no less important ingredient of the drink is six-row barley, which ripens in the northern climate of the polar day, when for seventy days the sun does not hide behind the horizon. The grain then accumulates a special energy, which is then transmitted to alcohols. But in addition to the natural advantages of this vodka over others, technology should be given credit. The manufacturer exposes alcohols to multi-level distillation, due to which vodka is purified from all kinds of impurities.
Brand birth
The first batch of strong drink called “Finland” was released in the year eighteen eighty-eight. True, everyone recognizable brand was created much later. Until the nineteen nineties, the bottle label was adorned with reindeer fighting each other. Now the logo has changed. Now this is a trio of deers against the background of the polar sun. The bottle design has undergone changes many times. The company management decided to make the container worthy of the sophisticated taste that Finland vodka has. The photo shows a beautiful bottle, as if carved from a block of ice.
The manufacturer also took care of a clean environment. It’s a sin to throw such a bottle away. After all, the original design can easily turn it into a vase for a bouquet. The volumes of containers that can be manufactured are from fifty milliliters to a liter (there are still five hundred and seven hundred milliliters bottles). Recently appeared vodka in a tetrapack with a faucet. Its volume of two liters makes the packaging indispensable for picnics in a large company. The production facilities of the company are located all in the same place - in the small town of Kosenkenva.
Gastronomic combinations
Finland vodka is good both as an independent drink and as an ingredient for cocktails (mainly long drinks). It can be served on an aperitif or accompanied by various hearty meat dishes.
Like all vodka, Finland is drunk chilled. Thanks to the beautiful bottle, it looks spectacular on the festive table. This vodka is appropriate and as an expensive gift. Her taste is very soft, although the strength is standard for distillates (forty degrees). Therefore, you need to drink it in moderation. But, according to reviews, regardless of the dose, in the morning, unlike the experience of other distillates, the head does not hurt and there is no hangover syndrome.
Status drink cannot be cheap. After all, Finland vodka is produced from natural and unique raw materials, which undergo two-level purification and distillation. On the Russian market, a half-liter bottle of this drink costs eight hundred rubles (for seven hundred grams they ask for one thousand eighty, and for 1 liter - 1410 rubles). But even such a high price does not prevent vodka from being the best selling. Every year, people around the world buy more than one and a half million boxes of elite drink.
Classical "Finland": characteristics, reviews
This is the first vodka produced by the company in 1888. Since then, the design of the bottle, the label, but not the quality, has changed. It remains as high as in the nineteenth century, when they loved everything that was solid and reliable. The fact that fake Finland vodka is quite common is evidence of the quality of the drink. Later we will tell you how to distinguish counterfeit from the original drink.
What are the taste characteristics of the classic "Finland"? Reviews claim that this drink has a very mild flavor, in which notes of freshly baked crumb can hardly be guessed. The taste of vodka is refined. It sounds barely audible fruit notes under the dominance of ripe barley. A sharp alcoholic aftertaste is absent. Classical Finland vodka goes well with meat hodgepodge, fish soup, home-made roast, pancakes with red caviar, baked meat (especially kebabs). If you use the drink "solo", then eat well-pickled mushrooms, pickles and grilled vegetables.
Finland vodka: types
For a long time, the drink was produced in a single, classic edition. Only in the nineties of the last century, the company decided on a bold experiment and began to supply a berry-flavored drink to the international market. So there was vodka "Finland" Cranberry "" (1994). Success exceeded the wildest expectations. The smell and taste of the northern berries, the bright pink color of the drink were so popular with consumers that the sales volumes of the new items exceeded the classic look of Finland.
After enjoying the success, the company released vodka with a taste of lime (1999). This view was as if created for long drinks and shots. Since the 2000s, the assortment of such a product as Finland vodka has been rapidly expanding. Tastes of mango, wild berries, grapefruit, mandarin and black currant allow you to create a wide variety of cocktails. “Fruit” vodka, according to reviews, is also pleasant to the fair sex.
Finland vodka: how to distinguish a fake
The high price and often changing bottle design make the drink a frequent victim of fraud. We examined the taste of vodka, characterized its aroma. But how to distinguish a fake in an unopened bottle? Since 2011, the original packaging has the appearance of a slightly melted block of ice. The bottle is made of white glass with a corrugated texture. Fake Finland vodka is unlikely to have such a pretentious, and therefore expensive, container. Next, pay attention to the label. It is printed on a translucent film. The patterns on it should be clear, bright colors. The inscription "Vodka of Finland. Made from pure glacial spring water and the finest six-row barley" is a sign of originality of the product. The bottle counter-label must be made of opaque film.
The classic Finland vodka has an exceptionally transparent color. At first glance it seems like the lid is made of metal. Tap on it with your fingernail. In the real “Finland” the cap is made of plastic painted in silver color. A glass ball dispenser and a safety valve are placed inside the neck.
How to distinguish fakes of “fruit” vodka
The popularity of cranberry "Finland" has led to the fact that they began to fake it. To protect yourself from buying counterfeit, you should turn the bottle upside down, shake and look at it in the light. Color should not change, air bubbles will quickly melt. If the color of the vodka becomes cloudy, then it contains harmful impurities. This is fake. Does cranberry and other fruit vodka have a white (transparent) color? Oh sure. And such a color is not a sign of fake at all. The fact is that the company has recently changed its concept. Now it provides only tinting the bottom of the bottle in the color of a berry or fruit. But the people are so accustomed that the Finland cranberry vodka, the photo of which is circulated by advertising, should be bright pink, which is wary of buying a transparent analogue. This significantly reduced the level of sales of new items. Therefore, the company came to the decision to continue producing Cranberry in two guises: red and colorless.
Frosty Ale
This vodka (both classic and fruit types) reviews are recommended to be used to create cocktails. Consumers note that this distillate gives familiar drinks something unique. Therefore, it will be unforgivable not to give some recipes for club drinks. To fully reveal the Scandinavian taste of vodka, we will start with the “Frosty Ale” long. In a tall glass, pour crushed ice and pour 50 ml of Finland tangerine. Supplement the glass with apple juice and ginger ale (75 ml each). Squeeze a slice of lime. Add 10 milliliters of sugar syrup. Garnish a glass with a slice of lime and a cocktail cherry.
"Lumberjack juice"
Cranberry vodka “Finland” is suitable for this cocktail. Reviews recommend mixing 50 ml of this alcohol in a shaker with half a glass of pomegranate juice and ice cubes. After pour the liquid into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze a slice of lime. Garnish with orange zest and mint leaves.