Polugar No. 1 is made with both rye and wheat grains, distilled in copper pot stills in the style of Russian vodka, or "breadwine" as it was referred to, from the 19th century.Nose: Bready aroma of home baking.Palate: Delicate, slightly sweet, warming soft taste of rye and wheat bread, crackers and bread crust with bread-honey notes.Finish: Long-lasting, dominated by hints of wheat bread, with notes of grains, meadow grasses, warm home baking, fresh hay and warm bread crumbs.Polugar is a more ancient type of spirit. It is quite different from modern vodka, rather more akin to legendary Russian bread wine, the noble father of vodka. It is said that the first Moscow tavern allowed to serve distilled liquor in Russia was exclusively reserved for the oprichniki, Ivan the Terrible’s secret police. Throughout Russian history, vodka was similar to whiskey; the smell and flavor reminiscent of freshly baked bread, heavily exhibiting the grains used to make it, and was known as bread wine.In 1895 Tsar Alexander III decreed to have all pot stills in Russia broken down. Subsequently, distillation processes were restricted to government licensed and taxed column stills, establishing the method for producing the crystalline, less nuanced spirit that we now know as vodka today.The Rodionov family spearheaded a movement to restore the traditional grain spirits enjoyed during the golden age of Russia. Boris Rodionov, a renowned academic and vodka historian, discovered the original recipe for the national bread wine spirit. With legislation forbidding the Polugar style of grain distillation in Russia, the Rodionov family restored an old distillery tucked away in a forest in Poland to reestablish the glory of the legendary spirit.Each Polugar selection is produced in accordance with an authentic recipe from the 18th century, using carefully selected grains and naturally pure water.Borscht, cabbage or pickle soup, meat pie, caviar crepes, beef stroganoff, and sausage dishes.Recommended as base spirit in Manhattans and Cosmopolitans.
