🥔 Potato vodka

If you are wondering whether potato vodka is a category of its own, the short answer is no: it is vodka whose ethyl alcohol is obtained by fermenting and distilling potatoes. In the EU, potatoes together with cereals are the main raw material of vodka under category 15 of Regulation 2019/787, and such vodka does not need the statement “produced from…”, which is mandatory for vodka made from other raw material. The minimum strength is 37.5% ABV.

EU law has no separate “potato vodka” category, so the general vodka rules apply. The alcohol is obtained by fermentation with yeast and distilled so that the smell and taste of the raw material are selectively reduced; it may be additionally distilled or treated with activated charcoal. Methanol is limited to 10 g per hectolitre of pure alcohol and sugar to 8 g/l, and colouring is prohibited.

Potato is also recognised as a vodka raw material by national laws. Polish law allows Polska Wódka to be made from potatoes grown in Poland, alongside rye, wheat, barley, oats and triticale. The 2022 Law of Ukraine “On Geographical Indications of Spirit Drinks” defines vodka as a drink made from alcohol of potatoes and/or cereals.

Potatoes also have a place in the history of Ukrainian horilka. According to the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine, most distilleries operated in Polissia and Left-Bank Ukraine, where potatoes, rye and molasses were available, although rye long remained the main raw material.

Why it matters to you. The word “potato” on a label is a producer's claim, since the law does not require it separately: if vodka is made only from potatoes or cereals, “produced from…” is not written. The name “Polska Wódka” guarantees Polish origin of the raw material, but it too allows both grain and potatoes. WHO: there is no safe dose of alcohol.