VODKA: “WATER OF LIFE” IN CHINA

Vodka is a drink which originated in Eastern Europe, the name stemming from the Russian word 'voda' meaning water or, as the Poles would say 'woda'.

The first documented production of vodka in Russia was at the end of the 9th century, but the first known distillery at, Khylnovsk, was about two hundred years later as reported in the Vyatka Chronicle of 1174. Poland lays claim to having distilled vodka even earlier in the 8th century, but as this was a distillation of wine it might be more appropriate to consider it a crude brandy. The first identifiable Polish vodkas appeared in the 11th century when they were called 'gorzalka', originally used as medicines.

Medicine & Gunpowder

During the Middle Ages, distilled liquor was used mainly for medicinal purposes, as well as being an ingredient in the production of gunpowder. In the 14th century a British emissary to Moscow first described vodka as the Russian national drink and in the mid-16th century it was established as the national drink in Poland and Finland. We learn from the Novgorod Chronicles of 1533 that in Russia also, vodka was used frequently as a medicine (zhiznennia voda meaning 'water of life').

In these ancient times Russia produced several kinds of 'vodka' or 'hot wine' as it was then called. There was 'plain wine' (standard), 'good wine' (improved) and 'boyar wine' (high quality). In addition stronger types existed, distilled two ('double wine') or more times.

early production methods were crude, vodka often contained impurities, so to mask these the distillers flavoured their spirits with fruit, herbs or spices.

The mid - 15th century saw the first appearance of pot distillation in Russia. Prior to that, seasoning, ageing and freezing were all used to remove impurities, as was precipitiation using isinglass ('karluk') from the air bladders of sturgeons. Distillation became the first step in producing vodka, with the product being improved by precipitation using isinglass, milk or egg white.

Around this time (1450) vodka started to be produced in large quantities and the first recorded exports of Russian vodka were to Sweden in 1505. Polish 'woda' exports started a century later, from major production centres in Posnan and Krakow.

In 1716, owning distilleries became the exclusive right of the nobility, who were granted further special rights in 1751. In the following 50 or so years there was a proliferation of types of aromatised vodka, but no attempt was made to standardize the basic product. Types produced included; absinthe, acorn, anisette, birch, calamus root, calendula, cherry, chicory, dill, ginger hazelnut, horseradish, juniper, lemon, mastic, mint, mountain ash, oak, pepper, peppermint, raspberry, sage, sorrel, wort and water melon! A typical production process was to istil alcohol twice, dilute it with milk and distil it again, adding water to bring it to the required strength and then flavouring it, prior to a fourth and final distillation. t was not a cheap product and it still had not attained eally large-scale production. It did not seek to compete ommercially with the major producers in Lithuania, oland and Prussia.

In the 18th century a professor in St. Petersburg iscovered a method of purifying alcohol using charcoal filtration. Felt and river sand had already been used for ome time in Russia for filtration.

Vodka marches accross Europe

After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks confiscatedall private distilleries in Moscow. As a result, a number of Russian vodka-makers emigrated, taking their skills and recipes with them. One such exile revived his brand in Paris, using the French version of his family name -Smirnoff. Thence, having met a Russian émigré from the USA, they set up the first vodka distillery there in 1934. This was subsequently sold to a US drinks company. From this small start, vodka began in the 1940s to achieve its wide popularity in the Western World.

However - following the Russian Revolution in 1917, a number of Russian refugees took their skills - and their love of vodka - to many parts of the world.

In the 1930s one such exile emigrated from Russia via France to the United States bringing with him the formula to one of the leading Russian makes of vodka. Through his dealings with another Russian émigré the first vodka distillery in the United States was set up in the 1930s.

Although not particularly successful at first, this enterprise was sold on again to an entrepreneur who eventually made a hit in the 1950s with a vodka-based cocktail, the Moscow Mule.

Realistically though vodka did not see a great boom in popularity in the West until the 1960s and 1970s when many more brands were launched in the USA and the UK. The timing coincided with the cultural revolution in these countries - the 'swinging sixties'. With a more affluent younger generation and a generally more relaxed lifestyle and the emphasis on adventure and experimentation - vodka's 'mixability' (plus the appeal of some witty and clever advertising) led to its huge and ever rising popularity, which continues today. Vodka cocktails are almost as numerous as those of gin and are seen in the same exclusive circles and stylish bars the world over.

Vodka can be made from many different kinds of agricultural materials. In the EU it is usually produced from grain or molasses. In Eastern Europe it is also produced from potatoes, or rice.

Neutral spirit of at least 96% alcohol by volume (ABV), having been checked that it is of the appropriate quality is either redistilled to produce a pure and flavourless spirit or filtered through activated charcoal which removes any residual impurities and odours. The definition of activated charcoal is that which has been treated either by steam or chemicals to make it more absorbent.

In many cases, the spirit is redistilled once or twice then blended with pure demineralised water, reducing its ABV to about 55% before being filtered through the charcoal. Filtration is done by either pumping the vodka through several consecutive columns of charcoal or, in the case of cheaper vodkas simply seeping it into tanks containing charcoal.

Very pure water is now added to the spirit to give the legal EU minimum ABV strength of at least 37.5%; it is not unusual to have vodkas of up to 50% ABV. This pure spirit drink does not legally require anything adding to it although some producers include additives to improve the characteristics whilst others introduce flavouring by either adding natural essences or by steeping fruits or herbs in the vodka for several days. No maturation period is required for vodka.

Vodka in China

Vodka was first introduced into China between 16th and 17th century, whentsarist Russia continued to expand eastward on Eurasian continent.Later, Russia invaded far Northeast Asia in mid-17th century. The Tsar repeatedly sent envoys to Qing government and requested to establish diplomatic and trade relations with it.From then on vodka was among goods traded in gateways forced to open. Since Emperor Kangxi(who reignedover China from1661 to 1722) started wars against Russia and defeated Russia, closed-door policy has been implementedfor over 100 years, during which period vodka trade was suspended. Until the late Qing Dynasty when China was invaded by aggressors, vodka was again traded unequally for large amounts of gold and silver.

Before 1949, vodkas from Russia had been very popular in taverns of northeast China. After 1949, governments of China and Soviet were in close relations. Stolichnaya Vodka and Moutai liquor became gifts in mutual visits and drinks at dinners, but they were not available for ordinary Chinese people.

After the reform and opening up, branded vodkas from Northern Europe and North Asia entered China and flourished for a long period of time. While in recent years, in the highly competitive market of imported spirits in China, the sales of vodka have been somewhat weaker than that of brandy and whiskey. According to recent market research released byInternational Wine and Spirit Research, in 2016, the gross import of vodka was about 3,130,000 liters, a year-on-year fall of 35.06%, The total import value was 9,380,000 US dollars or so, which decreased by 34.59% compared to that of last year. The average price was about 3 US dollars per liter,an increase of 0.67%.

Five Largest Countries Exporting Vodka to China at Present

Obviously, Sweden accounted for the largest proportion which was far more than that of other four countries. In 2016, China imported about 1,220,000 liters of vodka from Sweden, which accounted for 39.03% of the total and showed a year-on-year growth of4.27%. The total import value was 3,890,000 US dollars, which occupied 41.5% of the total and showed a year-on-year fall of 7.82%.The average price was about 3.19 US dollars per liter which decreased by 15.61% compared to that of last year. Besides, Russia, who was not ranked among top five exporters in 2015, returned to the list and ranked fourth in 2016. Latvia was one of new suppliers of vodka in China market.

Five Largest Consumption Provinces/ Municipalitiesof Vodka in China

China is the largest consumer of spirits in the world. According to the recent report of International Wine and Spirit Research, 26 billion bottles of spirits were consumed in 2016 in China.The per capita consumption was 18 to 20 bottles, which was as six times of the global average. However, the imported spirits only took about 1% of the spirits market in China. Besides, the statistics of the General Administration of Customs of the PRC showed that the amount of imported spirits decreased. From January to June in 2016, the imported volume of spirits was 25,776,807 liters which was 5.56% less than that in the same period in 2015. 

Even so, under the trend of the recovery of Chinese liquor, the yet-to-recover high-end imported cognac industry has already started to reset the market in China. This is the right time to enter the market of imported spirits. If imported vodka can grasp the chance, there is great possibility for it to seize more market shares.