Wyborowa (the feminine of the
Polish adjective ''wyborowy'' 'fine') or Wódka Wyborowa is a brand of
Polish vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
. The adjective was used in a favorable press article and then added after the word ''wódka'' 'vodka', resulting in the final name ''Wódka Wyborowa''.
The product remained popular domestically until 1873 when the export of the vodka was started to the European countries. In 1927, Wyborowa became the first vodka brand to be an international trademark. In the 1950s and 60s, Wyborowa conquered all major European countries - it constituted over 60% of the total volume of vodka exported to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
.
After the period of economic transition in the late 1980s and early 90s, the
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
distillery, like many others in the country, got itself into serious trouble and was close to filing for
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...
protection. However, due to the large international popularity of its major product, the plant was bought by the French alcohol producer
Pernod Ricard.
Until 2009, Wyborowa was presented in 29 international competitions bringing - together with ''Wyborowa Exquisite'' (formerly ''Single Estate'') in the Super Premium category - 29 medals including 22 gold. In addition, Wódka Wyborowa received the ''International High Quality Trophy'' at
Monde Selection's World Quality Selections in 2012.
In 2017 Wyborowa introduced new series of products including Wyborowa od Mistrza and Dark - first black vodka.
Production process
Wyborowa is produced from
rye grain, using a double-step distillation process. The rye is sent to small privately owned agricultural distilleries, where the rye is mashed and distilled once to produce "raw spirit".
When the rye arrives at the agricultural distillery, it is ground and then cooked within a large vessel using heated water from the distillery's own source. The mixture is treated with enzymes that facilitate the hydrolysis of starch to glucose. Afterwards, it undergoes fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Once the fermentation has been completed, the resulting liquid is known as the ‘wash’ and has an alcoholic strength of between 7% and 11% ABV
The wash is distilled in a copper column still, yielding a spirit around 90% ABV. It takes 3 kg of rye to produce one litre of spirit. This "raw spirit" is then transferred to the rectification plant for further purification.
The raw spirit passes through three columns of a continuous still to remove impurities.
Before Wyborowa is bottled, the rectified spirit needs to be reduced to the bottling strength of 40% ABV by diluting it with water from a dedicated spring. Once diluted, the vodka is passed through natural cellulose plates and mesh filters to remove particulate matter. Filtered vodka is pumped to the bottling line, where 5,000 bottles of Wyborowa are filled per hour.
Trivia
The unique bottle shape was designed by architect
Frank Gehry.
Criticism
In an analysis mandated by Swiss TV
RTS
RTS may refer to:
Medicine
* Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim
* Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma
* Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...
in May 2014, the
Eurofins Scientific group of laboratories reveals the presence of sugar cane or corn while Wyborowa's labeling mentions rye alcohol only.
See also
*
List of cocktails
*
Alcoholic beverage
References
External links
*
{{Vodkas
Pernod Ricard brands
Polish brands
Polish vodkas
Rye-based drinks
1823 introductions
he:וודקה#מותגי וודקה נודעים