The first records of distilled grains spirits appeared in Ireland and Scotland in the 1400’s. Over time, these spirits became known as whiskey, which is the anglicized version of the Gaelic word uisce beatha (Ish-ca Baa-ha) which means water of life. English colonization spread whiskey making it to both Canada and the United States and the types of whiskey they made evolved based on the grains that grew well in those climates and soils. Before the 1800’s, whiskey was largely stored in barrels simply for transportation. But, around the turn of the 19th century, people noticed that whiskey stored in barrels had a better flavor and aroma and so began purposefully aging whiskey before selling it. As distilling technology improved, it expanded the variety of whiskey styles that could be made to match the preferences of the drinking public.
Any country in which vodka is made, flavored vodkas are made as well.
In other spirits such as whiskey or gin there are a number of traditional flavors and some less common or experimental flavors. Flavored vodka, however, is unique in that the skies are the limit when it comes to flavor. Nearly everything imaginable has been turned into a flavored vodka. Familiar flavors such as citrus, vanilla, berries and hot peppers have had their time as well as more unusual flavors such as Old Bay seasoning and birthday cake.
Infusion/Maceration: Infusion and maceration are two terms that describe an almost identical process. In both instances a flavoring element (fruits, herbs, or other botanicals) is soaked in alcohol to extract its flavor. Sometimes maceration is used to refer to an intermediate step before distillation or some other process, while infusion can refer to the same extraction as the end product.
Harmless coloring/flavoring/blending materials are defined by the US Government as an essential component of the particular class and/or type of distilled spirits and may not require label disclosure. For flavored vodka, more than 2½% of the finished product may be blending materials that could include sugar, glycerin, citric acid, natural and/or artificial flavors and coloring, which must be labeled.
An industry term used to describe a subset of flavored vodkas that have been flavored through the distillation or maceration of real botanicals, not extracts. The color in the spirit is the result of post-distillation maceration of real botanicals.