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 Anora Group Plc ( fi, Anora Group Oyj) is a Nordic distilled beverage and wine company. It was formed in 2021 as a result of the merger of Norway's Arcus Group and Finland's Altia Group. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Anora has offices in e ...

at the Koskenkorva distillery in

Ilmajoki Ilmajoki (; sv, Ilmola) is a municipality of Finland. Ilmajoki is a town and municipality situated in Finland's South Ostrobothnia region, founded in 1865. Ilmajoki has a population of 12,165 (28. February 2017)and covers an area of 579.79 ...

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 pr ...

) 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 (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...

. The drink is produced by diluting this alcohol with spring water and a very small amount of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

. 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 impuritie ...

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 between ...

), 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. Sometime ...

, 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 norther ...

-flavored. Another variant is the same Koskenkorva with

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

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 Finlandia is a brand of vodka produced in Finland. It is made from barley distilled into a neutral spirit in the village of Koskenkorva in Ilmajoki, operated by Finland's Altia Corporation. The distilled alcohol is then transported to a produc ...

, 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 imita ...

(commonly referred to as ''Kossukola''),

carbonated water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

(''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 Helsinki slang or ('Helsinki's slang', from Swedish language, Swedish , 'city'; see #Etymology, etymology) is a local dialect and a sociolect of the Finnish language mainly used in the capital city of Helsinki. It is characterized by its abunda ...

for "fish").

References

External links

Official site
{{Vodkas Finnish alcoholic drinks Finnish brands Finnish vodkas