Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka () is a flavored Polish

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

which contains a blade of bison grass (''Hierochloe odorata'') in every bottle. The Żubrówka brand name is also used on bottles of conventional

, labeled as Żubrówka Biała. The grass is sourced from the

Białowieża Forest Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex on the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more ...

, hand-picked and dried under natural conditions. The origins of Żubrówka production in Poland date back to the 16th century. Żubrówka ranks as the third or fourth best-selling vodka brand in the world (after

Smirnoff Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898), but its modern incarnation traces back to the ...

, Absolut, and occasionally Khortytsia). Żubrówka is available in more than 80 markets worldwide. Żubrówka is manufactured at the Polmos Białystok distillery. While it is claimed that the recipe dates back as far as the 14th century, commercial production of Bison Grass Vodka first began at the distillery in 1928. The brand is owned by Central European Distribution Corporation International, which was acquired by Roust International in 2013. Since 2022, it has been owned by the Maspex Group.

Etymology and brand

In Polish, the word is officially used for bison grass, while the name ''żubrówka'' has been used in folk terminology and colloquially. The name comes from the term ''zubr'' (, ), the word for the

European bison The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

in many

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...

and

Baltic languages The Baltic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively or as a second language by a population of about 6.5–7.0 million people

. The brands ''Zubrovka'' and ''Żubrówka'' are registered by Sojuzplodoimport in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and Roust International in Poland.

Types

In Poland, the Żubrówka brand is also used to label other vodkas that are not żubrówka. Thirteen different varieties have appeared on the market under this brand: * Żubrówka Bison Grass – Classic Żubrówka, produced according to traditional methods from oak barrel maturing bison grass macerate. Its characteristic feature is the blade placed in the bottle. * Żubrówka Biała – pure, distilled six times and filtered using platinum, the variety is characterized by its mild taste. * Żubrówka Czarna – vodka with a mild flavor that is due to charcoal and oak filtration and selected wheat. * Linia Fresh Żu – Light, refreshing. A combination of juicy fruit and bison grass. Available in 4 flavors: Sour Apple, Refreshing Mint, Sour Lemon, Invigorating Sea Buckthorn.

United States variant

Before 2010 Żubrówka was illegal in the United States because the grass it is made from contains

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

which the FDA classifies as a "substances generally prohibited from direct addition or use as human food". Since 2011, the manufacturers have made a version of Żubrówka from

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

grain which aims to have a flavor similar to the original.

Methods of consumption

Żubrówka is sometimes mixed with apple juice, preferably unfiltered. Known in Poland as ''szarlotka'', literally " apple cake", overseas the drink is branded Apple ŻU and was included in Independent magazine's list of th
Top 50 drinks in the world
(other names for this drink are Tatanka, Bison Fire, Apple Pie itd.). Known in the UK as a ''Frisky Bison'', and in the US as a ''Polish Kiss''. It is sometimes served over

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

, and another common mixer is

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

References

External links

Roust International
Official site
CEDC Official Site

Zubrowka
at

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