Gin vs Vodka: All You Need To Know

Oct 22, 2020

 

 

Gin and vodka are two of the most popular and preferred spirits across the globe. This is mostly for their clear texture in the glass. Even though the two have some similarities, they are hugely different in their tastes. The gin vs vodka difference comes from their mode of preparation or production.

What Is Vodka?

Vodka is essentially the pride of Russia. This neutral spirit originated in the 14^th century and usually does not have any strong flavor, taste, or color. That is the conventional taste of vodka. However, now, most of these spirits have a strong fruity flavor and aroma. This drink gets its name from the Russian word ‘voda’, meaning ‘little stream.’

What is the traditional mode of vodka preparation? It is distilled from potato or grain mixtures. Other popular ingredients for vodka include corn, wheat, or even grapes. The standard alcohol content in this drink is 40%. However, in European countries, the content is set at 37.5%. This makes it one of the heaviest drinks in the world with a high alcohol content. Also owing to the fact that it is a clear spirit, it proves to be different from other drinks across the globe.

What Is Gin?

Gin, on the other hand, is quite different. For starters, it officially originated in the 17^th century in Holland, but one could find traces of gin even earlier, in the 11^th century.

The initial idea involved curding distilled drinks with juniper berries. It acted as a remedy against the dreaded plague. Even though it was not recognized as gin then, it had a similar taste and flavor.

But later in the 17^th century, Franciscus de la Boe, a physician, and professor introduced the modern-day gin. Essentially, this is a neutral spirit with a lot of flavoring agents. Thanks to these components, this drink comes with exciting flavors. Juniper berries are the most common flavoring agents.

However, you can include other flavoring agents as well that add to the taste of this spirit. The product that it is distilled from gives gin its whole taste and flavor. Even though it is popular across the globe, its manufacturing is primarily limited to a few countries only. These majorly include the United States, the United Kingdom, and Holland. This leads to four different varieties of gin, including London Dry, Old Tom, Plymouth, and Dutch.

Gin Vs Vodka: Differences Between Vodka And Gin

While both vodka and gin are popular drinks globally, there are certain differences between the two. This difference lies mainly in the raw materials used in production. However, it is imperative to remember here that irrespective of the materials used in the production of the alcohol, the distillation process, and period gives it the typical flavor. Here are the four broad categories in which the two drinks differ.

Taste

The two spirits are similar in the fact that they are both clear and colorless. But their tastes are entirely different. Vodka, for starters, is tasteless and neutral. It does not have any distinctive taste of its own. It is usually a water-based spirit that has a clean finish. On the other hand, gin is hugely different. It has a distinctive taste and flavor, with some herbal flavors. As compared to vodka, gin is made from eight botanicals, which gives it a strong taste. In effect, both the spirits mark a clean difference in taste and flavor owing to the difference in the production process.

Method Of Serving

 Considering the fact that gin and vodka are made differently and have strictly distinctive tastes, they are usually served differently as well. The way you serve the spirit could go a long way in making or breaking its taste. For instance, when you are looking to have vodka, more often than not, you would expect a chilled drink on the table for you.

However, when you consider gin, it can be served without the presence of ice or refrigeration. The reason that vodka is more popularly served cold is that the drink becomes viscous at the low ice-temperatures. This brings out a number of interesting flavors on the table.

However, when it comes to vodka, it already comes packed with some strong flavors. In effect, you do not usually require ice-cold temperatures to bring out the tastes. The flavors already compensate for the high temperature serving processes.

Classification

There is a common notion that gin can act as flavored vodka in multiple cases. This is all thanks to the fact that you can redistill gin from vodka after adding some new spices, some herbal extracts, and flavors. However, the reverse is not true. You can never produce vodka from gin since the flavors are already added to the spirit.

Types of gin:

• Juniper-Flavored Spirit Drinks – This is the earliest variant of the spirit, distilled from fermented from grain mash. After that, it is re-distilled with aromatic compounds.
• Distilled gin – For this variant, one would choose the agricultural ethanol and add some juniper berries and botanicals with this.
• London gin – Ethyl alcohol with a high methanol content is chosen for making London gin.

Types of vodka:

• Plain vodka – This is the traditional vodka containing 95% alcohol. It is known for bringing in an immediate kick in the person drinking the spirit.
• Fruit and herbal vodka – This requires a lot more time for production. The infusion process goes through a long three-week period, which brings out the spirits and aroma in the drink.
• Flavored vodka – Gradually, the demand for flavored vodka has been on the rise. It includes some dominant flavors like salted caramel, peanut butter, marshmallows, jellies, rainbow sherbet, and the likes.

While there are some conventional points for and against gin vs vodka, the vodka is the ultimate winner. You can enjoy Pristine Vodka direct on the rocks, or add it to your favorite cocktails. You can order Pristine Vodka in New York here. 

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