Belvedere (vodka)

Infobox Beverage
name=Belvedere


type=Vodka
manufacturer= Millennium Imports LLC, Poland
origin=Żyrardów, Poland
introduced=1996 (in USA)
discontinued=
proof= 80
variants= Citrus, Orange
related= List of vodkas

Belvedere is a vodka from Poland. Belvedere is distilled solely from a single type of grain, the "Dańkowskie Złote" rye.

Originally distilled in the Warsaw's suburb of Żyrardów, it is now license-made in several other distilleries. The makers claim their methods and practices of manufacturing the vodka trace back over 600 years. Belvedere is exported worldwide.

Belvedere is marketed as being distilled longer than most other vodkas. The lengthy distillation of the drink is said to make it much smoother.

History

Belvedere, named after the presidential palace of Poland, comes from a century old distillery in the small town of Zyrardow, just West of Warsaw. Belvedere is made in small batches.

Dankowskie Gold Rye is the single grain ingredient. Belvedere is distilled four times and blended with water from the distillery’s own wells.

Belvedere Cytrus and Belvedere Pomarancza use the maceration process of French flavour expert Elie-Arnaud Denoix. Citrus peels from fruits are steeped in Belvedere spirit. These infusions are then distilled and blended to create macerated vodka with fruit aromas and flavours.

First introduced in the US in 1996, Belvedere is marketed in the luxury vodka segment, currently the fastest growing category in distilled spirits fact|date=February 2008. Belvedere is available in all major non muslim countries.

The collection

;Cytrus:Belvedere Cytrus uses a combination of select lemons from the Mediterranean and lime from Latin America.

;Pomarańcza (Orange):Belvedere Pomarancza uses a combination of natural sweet oranges, mandarins, and orange blossoms from the Mediterranean and limes from Latin America.

Bottle

The design on the bottle features the Belweder Palace ( _pl. Pałac Belwederski), a former residence of Poland's Marshal Józef Piłsudski, and the first residence of Lech Wałęsa before he moved to the Namiestnikowski Palace to complete his one and only term as Poland's president. The cork is replaceable rather than a screw-top cap, which is common for polish brands of vodka. It is sold in 50 ml, 375 ml, 750 ml, 1000 ml, 1500 ml (Magnum), 1750ml, 3000 ml (Jeroboam), 6000 ml (Methuselah) size bottles.

Music

Hip-hop artists such as The Game have given free advertisements to Belvedere Vodka by mentioning it in many of their songs. The Game mentions that his drink of choice is Belvedere vodka with the Snapple flavor Go Bananas in the title track of his second album "Doctor's Advocate". Rapper Jay-Z mentions Belvedere in several songs on the album "". Jagged Edge also mentions Belvedere in the song "Where the Party At". Juicy J also mentions Belvedere Vodka and cranberry juice in the song "Smoke Dat Weed". R&B singer Mýa mentions the drink in her song "My Love Is Like...Wo"; in the first line of the second verse, she asks "Can you bring some Belvedere? (So we can pop the cork and cheers)". [ [http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mya/myloveislikewo.html AZ Lyrics] ] R&B singer R. Kelly mentions drinking the brand of vodka in his song "Leave Your Name" as he sings, "Drinking Belvedere, 7-Up, and gin, I told myself never again," after a night out. Missy Elliot also references the vodka with the line, "See the Belvedere playin' tricks on ya?" in her 2002 hit single "Work It." The rapper Redman also mentions Belvedere vodka in his song "Let's get dirty", "I gotta get in, I drove here with a car loaded of b*tches charged on Belvedere.". Also, Young Jeezy mentioned Belvedere in the song :"Vacation", saying "Gangster of the year, sippin Belvedere".

RZA recently produced an exclusive track for the brand with the help of director/actor Vincent Gallo. It is entitled "Something I Want (For Real)".

Production

Four Distillations

Belvedere is distilled four times, as opposed to three

Water

Polmos Zyrardów's distillery has its own water source. The distillery also uses a water purification system that relies on reverse osmosis. The water is transported from the wells through to the purification system in an entirely closed system. The water purification process involves eleven steps and eight stages of quality control.

Blending And Filtering

Once the grain has been through its distillation process and Polmos Zyrardów’s artesian well water has been purified, the two raw materials are brought together gradually to allow the water and the spirit to integrate. During this process, called 'blending' the Master Distiller will monitor and once the blend has reached 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) he will allow the new spirit to rest. After a few days, the Master Distiller will send the vodka to be filtered.

Belvedere is filtered twice, once through a cellulose filter that will remove microscopic particles and then through an activated carbon filter.

Hand Finishing

Polmos Zyrardów once earned the honour of a Quality Control Certificate from the Polish Government.

All corks are sourced from Portugal and are soaked in Belvedere to make sure they do not influence colour, taste or smell of finished product.

As the iconic bottles are filled they are individually hand finished and inspected. The final step is the hand application of the blue strip stamp. Each bottle is then hand checked for any imperfections prior to packaging and shipped worldwide.

References

External links

* [http://www.belvederevodka.com Belvedere Vodka] Official Site
*http://www.corksout.com/content/kirk_s_cocktail_blog_-_september_2008/