Koskenkorva Viina (also known simply as Koskenkorva or ''Kossu'') is a traditional clear spirit drink (38%) in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, produced by
Anora Group at the Koskenkorva distillery in
Ilmajoki and bottled in
Rajamäki,
Nurmijärvi
Nurmijärvi () is the most populated rural municipality of Finland, located north of the capital Helsinki. The neighboring municipalities of Nurmijärvi are Espoo, Vantaa, Tuusula, Hyvinkää and Vihti, and it is part of the Greater Helsinki. Th ...
.
The grain (
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
) alcohol is produced using 200-step
continuous distillation
Continuous distillation, a form of distillation, is an ongoing separation in which a mixture is continuously (without interruption) fed into the process and separated fractions are removed continuously as output streams. Distillation is the sep ...
designed to produce high-purity industrial
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
. The drink is produced by diluting this alcohol with spring water and a very small amount of
sugar. Although commonly called a
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
in English, in Finland it is not called a "vodka", but ''viina'' (see
brännvin
Brännvin is a Swedish liquor distilled from potatoes, grain, or (formerly) wood cellulose. It can be plain and colourless, or flavoured with herbs and spices. Beverages labelled ''brännvin'' are usually plain and have an alcohol content betwee ...
), although the word "vodka" is found in the label due to EU regulations. Koskenkorva Vodka is the same beverage (but with 40% or 60% alcohol instead of the traditional 38%) intended for foreign markets.
Besides the standard 38% near-unflavored there are several variants of Koskenkorva on the market, most notably the famous
Salmiakki Koskenkorva
Salmiakki Koskenkorva, (also Salmiakkikossu for short, or Salmari more colloquially) is a pre-mixed liqueur popular in Finland. Traditionally, the cocktail consisted of Koskenkorva Viina vodka with salmiakki extract dissolved into it. Sometim ...
, better known as Salmiakkikossu or Salmari, which is
salmiakki
Salty liquorice, salmiak liquorice or salmiac liquorice, is a variety of liquorice flavoured with the ingredient "salmiak salt" ( sal ammoniac; ammonium chloride), and is a common confection found in the Nordic countries, Benelux, and northe ...
-flavored. Another variant is the same Koskenkorva with
rye instead of barley, marketed under the same concept as Koskenkorva Viina Ruis. There also exists a
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
variant called ''Vanilja Koskenkorva''.
Finlandia Vodka, a vodka classified as "imported premium", is the same as Koskenkorva 40%, except that sugar is not added. Altia sold this brand, intended for foreign markets, to the American
Brown-Forman Corporation, but remains the sole producer of Finlandia Vodka at least until 2017.
Koskenkorva is typically enjoyed cold, but can be also mixed with
cola
Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imi ...
(commonly referred to as ''Kossukola''),
carbonated water (''Kossuvissy''), orange juice ("
screwdriver
A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver has been repla ...
"), energy drink, or certain (hard) salty liquorice candies. The latter is often made by mixing ground
tyrkisk peber candies with the drink, though other similar candies are also used, and there exists a premade salmiakki
mixer for this particular purpose.
Apteekin salmiakki mixer
A similar way of enjoying ''kossu'' is by mixing ground Fisherman's Friend
Fisherman's Friend is a brand of strong menthol lozenges manufactured by the Lofthouse company in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England.
History
Fisherman's Friend was originally developed by pharmacist James Lofthouse in 1865 to relieve various ...
lozenges to the drink; the resulting cocktail is known as "Fisu" ( Helsinki slang for "fish").
References
External links
Official site
{{Vodkas
Finnish alcoholic drinks
Finnish brands
Finnish vodkas