potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are edible tubers and the world’s fourth-largest field crop (following maize, wheat, and rice). In distillation, potatoes are used mainly in the production of vodka and aquavit, though only a small percentage of these spirits are produced from potatoes; most vodka and aquavit is made from grain.
Because potatoes contain starch and not sugar, distillers must use either enzymes or malted grain (typically barley) to convert the starch into sugar for fermentation. The mash of potatoes, barley (or enzymes), and water is then strained out. Yeast is added to the liquid, which then ferments. The fermented liquid is then distilled.
Historically, vodka was first produced from grain. The potato, a South American crop, reached Europe no earlier than the mid-1500s, and vodka production predated that period. Potatoes became the ingredient of choice in the late 1700s, when the price of potatoes was far lower than the price of grain.
Potato spirit from Germany was used to stretch out cognac stocks during the phylloxera crisis of the late 1800s, which did nothing to help its reputation. There are, however, still a few well-regarded brands of vodka made from potatoes, chiefly from Poland (e.g., Chopin and Luksusowa), but also from Sweden (Karlsson’s) and parts of the United States (Woody Creek and Boyd & Blair).
English, Camper. “When Vodka Was Made from Potatoes.” Alcademics, September 18, 2014. http://www.alcademics.com/2014/09/when-vodka-was-made-from-potatoes.html (accessed March 8, 2021).
By: Michael Dietsch