If we ask someone what is the national drink in Russia, we will almost certainly get the answer: Russian vodka!

What makes Russian vodka special? One of the most important differences between this drink and foreign analogues is raw materials. Rye served as a raw material for the manufacture of Russian vodka for centuries (from the 15th to the 19th century). In the 1930s and to the present, mass varieties of vodka are made from wheat. The use of grain as a raw material for the manufacture of Russian vodka reduces the likelihood of hangovers and aggression – the characteristic consequences of potato or beet vodka.

An equally important component is water from Russian rivers with a softness of no more than 4 mg / eq. For the production of vodka, ZhVZ LLC uses the water of the Volga, on the banks of which the enterprise is located. Before mixing with grain alcohol, the water is purified: it is filtered with sand, settled, and aerated. In the West, when creating pseudo-vodka, water is boiled or distilled. In the manufacture of Russian vodka, this is unacceptable, since it does not allow achieving the necessary purity and softness of the drink.

Traditionally, rye malt is used in the manufacture of vodka. And corn, millet, barley, oats, peas or buckwheat are sometimes added to the must.