Definition of vodka to be laid down by EU law

BBC News: EU moves to cure vodka headache


And, I thought the EU leaders had better things to do.

Most vodkas list their primary source (e.g., "pure grain" or in the case of Luksusova, potato). Why do you think food labeling is a waste of time? I'd prefer full ingredient labeling for alcoholic beverages just like all other foods and beverages. The problem is that certain things are used in the refining and filtration process that aren't ingredients per se, but are nevertheless used in the process, such as animal finings for stout or egg white for white wine clarification. It's the shape of the still that determines much of the character of spirits, not the ingredients themselves, so why should a company be allowed to hide its sources?

Of course, once I've partaken of their products for more than a couple hours, I really don't give a shit.

woof.

...and will they also rule (as per some other foods ,etc) that it may only be made in its countries of origin (i.e. Eastern Europe and Scandinavia) ?

why should they? The UK is the largest EU exporter of Vodka. Why should the eastern Europeans get a monopoly?

No. "Vodka" is a generic word, neither a region or location (like Champagne) nor a specified process or content (like Bourbon). Before food labeling laws companies screamed that it would be their deaths. That only applied to a few of the worst. Almost everyone reads food labels but the alcohol industry has successfully prevented almost ever initiative to force them to list ingredients, too. The only exception: wines must indicate on their labels if sulfites were used (many deaths due to sulfite reactions) and German laws require the notation of colouring additives on the label (whiskey's dirty secret -- even many expensive brands add colouring).

woof.

Previous entry was ever so slightly with tongue-in-cheek.

Scotch whisky has no dirty secrets. (I speak as one who has worked in a whisky distillery,
and processed statistics for the Scotch Whisky (Trade) Association).
1. Colour is added by the use of caramel (burnt sugar) only.
A minute amount may be added to give the particular market what it expects.
No-one can taste this...
2. Colour is extracted through filtration through activated carbon.
Some markets (South American?) want a clear appearance.
The flavour is not affected...
3. The whole process is under the rigorous control of Customs and Excise -
not a drop can be sold without 3 years maturation in barrels.
4. The reputation of "Scotch" is also safeguarded by the Scotch Whisky Association,
which rapped the mighty Diageo over the knuckles publicly recently for bending the rules
over "single" Malts.
5. If you buy a bottle of Scotch that was bottled in Scotland then you have a guarantee of a
quality product (whether blended or single malt or malt blend).
Remember - vodka, gin etc. goes straight from the still to the bottle - not so Scotch,
which by law must gracefully mature for at least three years.

Scotch whisky has no dirty secrets.
Ah, but it does.

1. Colour is added by the use of caramel (burnt sugar) only.
Adding colouring is a secret, one heavily protected within the industry and the labeling of which is heavily fought in every country. Only in Germany are distilleries required to label this. If they weren't ashamed of this they wouldn't print different labels without this distinction for Austria, a country with 1/10 the population of Germany. The cost to print different labels and differentiate between countries with the same language is not insignificant.

A minute amount may be added to give the particular market what it expects.
It's deception, pure and simple, especially when done by a company pushing their high-dollar, premium, single-malt whiskey. The industry takes advantage of the consumer ignorance and markets itself as "pure" when, in fact, it uses additives which it would prefer to hide.

No-one can taste this...
I never claimed this had anything to do with taste. On the other hand, a single drop of water can completely change the character of a whiskey;, so how can you say that the addition of a sugar-derived substance can't?

2. Colour is extracted through filtration through activated carbon.
Then mark the whiskey as having been filtered through carbon. Be honest with the public. I note that Glenlivet, a direct competitor to Glenfiddich, has a similar colour and no additives.

Some markets (South American?) want a clear appearance.
Fine. But be honest and admit that you're adding colour.

The flavour is not affected...
See above. A single drop of water is all it takes to change the nose, characteristics, taste, swallow and aftertaste of a whiskey.

3. The whole process is under the rigorous control of Customs and Excise -
not a drop can be sold without 3 years maturation in barrels.
This is a typical attempt at slight-of-hand. You're trying misdirection and bringing up a point which has nothing to do with the fact that colouring is added. Period. Three years, yes, we know. That has nothing to do with the fact that they may well add colouring to make it look "richer" or "deeper". No distillery is required to list the age. Indeed, Johnny Walker Blue, one of the more expensive tipples, doesn't list an age for the fact that the youngest single drop in a batch determines the official "age", so that if they use some raw 1095-day-old swill to tweak the flavour of the blend, then it would be a 3-year, even if 97% of the contents were 100 years old or older.

4. The reputation of "Scotch" is also safeguarded by the Scotch Whisky Association,
More misdirection.

5. If you buy a bottle of Scotch that was bottled in Scotland then you have a guarantee of a
quality product
Bullshit. That's like saying that if you buy a bottle of beer in Germany, you have a guarantee that it'll be good. There are beers which cost less than the fucking bottle/can deposit and there are others that are marketed as "premium", all of which taste like shit and no wonder, because they're made like shit.

Remember - vodka, gin etc. goes straight from the still to the bottle
Wrong. While vodka is normally a neutral alcohol which can be filtered a few times, gin is redistilled at least twice and then set to vapour over various additional flavouring agents.

Misdirection, deceit, and outright lies. As I wrote before, "Whiskey's Dirty Secret".

woof.