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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/725097
www.cheersonline.com 31 September 2016 • You can make vodka from a number of things, from grains and grapes to rice and potatoes. Belvedere crafts its vod- ka from rye—Dankowskie rye grown on central Poland's Mazovian Plains. In fact, rye and water—and character, the company says—are the only ingredients in Belvedere. As the rye harvest was starting in July, the luxury vodka brand hosted a group of international journalists in Poland. ALL-NATURAL ATTITIUDE Launched in 1993 and introduced to U.S. in 1996, Belvedere is named after the Royal Belvedere Palace in Warsaw, which is the structure depicted on the vodka's bottle label. The brand, which was awarded 42 medals and trophies in 2015, is owned by LVMH. Naturalness is a big platform for Belvedere, says Ali Dedianko, the vodka's global director of education. It's also a hot-button topic, as there's a perception that naturalness "is somehow linked to a statement of health," she notes. But alcohol is not healthy, so those that indulge should seek a pure spirit, one without additives, Dedianko says. How does Belvedere ensure that its vodka is pure and natural? The brand has a partnership with 10 farmers to grow the rye. "We have good relations with the farmers— we know who they are and how they cultivate the grain," says Wieslaw Pilat, general manager of Polmos Zyrardów, Belvedere's distillery. The rye is harvested from July through September, and the fi rst distillation takes place at the agricultural facility to ensure there's no contamination, he said. Belvedere purchases the raw spirit after that fi rst distillation and transports it to the 100-year-old Polmos distillery for rectifi cation. The raw spirit is distilled three more times and blended with artesian water with 11 steps of purifi cation. The company uses a maceration process for its fl avored expressions, and adds no sugar. For its lemon vodka, for instance, Belvedere uses only the peels of spring lemons from Spain to fl avor the vodka. The pink grapefruit fl avor is macerated using whole slices of grapefruit with peels, plus a drop each of distil- lates of lemon and ginger. Why ginger? It acts as a fl avor enhancer. The pink grapefruit expression is labeled "S27," as that batch was deemed the best expression after tests of multiple recipes. BEHIND BELVEDERE'S COMMITMENT TO NATURALNESS By Melissa Dowling The Royal Belvedere Palace in Warsaw, for which the Polish vodka is named, is depicted on the bottle's label. ON THE ROAD Poland