Perm Vodka Distillery | Russia Travel

Perm Vodka Distillery - Indulge in a Russian Favourite

Vodka is Russia’s most loved drink, and appeared over a millennium ago. Since then there has been rivalry between Russians and the Polish and arguments as to who first invented vodka. It is thought that the difference is not so much who invented the drink first, but rather that the Polish used potatoes to produce vodka and the Russians used grain.

Nonetheless, it is a fact that in no other country do you find so much vodka produced and consumed than what you find in Russia. To give you an idea of how much the people of Russia love their vodka, there are over a thousand registered brands of vodka which does not include the even larger amount of “samagon”, that is a home-made version made and sold illegally.

Vodka is largely integrated into the average Russian person’s life and culture in many ways. Although no celebration can go without this drink it also has a side to it that is not pretty and leads many down the road of alcoholism.

Perm Vodka Distillery, which started production in 1895, is not the only leading distillery in Russia, there are quite a few. PermAlko is Perm’s largest distillery and produces many local brands such as “Old Ural”, “Great Perm”, “Dimidovskaya”, “Permskiv Krai” and “Permskaya Luxe”. Perm Vodka also produces vodka for export to many different countries, like “Moskovskaya”, “Smirnoff”, and “Stolichnaya”. PermAlko has also produced a number of variations of the straightforward vodka, for instance: Honey vodka, cranberry vodka, peppered vodka and several kinds of balsams. Balsam is a spirit made from using a variety of herbs and spices as one of the main ingredient for taste and is a spirit that has up to between 25 and 50 percent alcohol.

If you are interested in finding out more about this old but interesting factory then take a two-hour tour around PermAlko. During the tour you will be informed about the factory and the processes used to produce the vodka and also about the actual products. The guide informs you about the distillation process of vodka as you go past the different sections. In these processes from water, sugar and grain create a fine end product. Once the tour is over you will be invited to the ‘tasting room’ where you can smell the variety of aromas of the different vodkas. After that you will be treated to a small lunch containing a variety of snacks commonly eaten with a shot of vodka and then you can leave for home with that special vodka you have chosen from PermAlko.

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