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Belvedere
Type	Vodka
Proof	80
Manufacturer	Millennium Imports LLC, Poland
Country of origin	Żyrardów, Poland
Introduced	1996 (in USA)
Variants	Citrus, Orange
Related products	List of vodkas

Belvedere is a vodka from Poland. Unlike many cheaper vodkas, Belvedere is distilled solely from a single type of grain, the Dąkowskie Złote rye.

Originally distilled in the Warsaw's suburb of Żyrardów, it is now license-made in several other distilleries. The makers claim their methods and practices of manufacturing the vodka trace back over 600 years. Belvedere is exported worldwide.

Belvedere is marketed as being distilled longer than most other vodkas. The lengthy distillation of the drink is said to make it much smoother.

Contents 1 History 2 The collection 3 Bottle 4 Music 5 Tasting notes 6 Spirit 6.1 Dankowskie Gold Rye 6.2 Four Distillations 6.3 Water 6.4 Blending And Filtering 6.5 Hand Finishing 7 References 8 External links

Belvedere, named after the beautiful presidential palace of Poland, hails from a century old distillery in the small town of Zyrardow, just West of Warsaw. Following traditions dating back over 600 years, Belvedere is handcrafted in small batches to ensure superior quality meeting only the highest of standards.

Using exclusively Dankowskie Gold Rye as the single grain ingredient, Belvedere is distilled four times, the optimum number for enhancing its subtle sweetness and smooth clean finish, and blended with water from the distillery’s own artesian wells. Belvedere Cytrus and Belvedere Pomarancza use the proprietary maceration process of French flavour expert Elie-Arnaud Denoix. Citrus peels from fruits harvested at their peak ripeness are steeped in Belvedere Pure spirit. These infusions are then distilled and blended to create luxury macerated vodka bursting with real fruit aromas and flavours.

First introduced in the US in 1996, Belvedere single-handedly created the luxury vodka segment, currently the fastest growing category in distilled spirits. Belvedere is now available in all major countries.

Besides the original Belvedere, it is available in two unique and carefully crafted flavours. Belvedere Cytrus and Belvedere Pomarancza use the proprietary maceration process of French flavour expert Elie-Arnaud Denoix. Using exclusively Dankowskie Gold Rye as the single grain ingredient, Belvedere is distilled four times, the optimum number for enhancing its subtle sweetness and smooth clean finish, and blended with water from the distillery’s own artesian wells. Citrus peels from fruits harvested at their peak ripeness are steeped in Belvedere Pure spirit. These infusions are then distilled and blended together with artesian water from the distillery, creating luxury macerated vodka bursting with real fruit aromas and flavours.

Cytrus

Belvedere Cytrus uses a combination of select lemons from the Mediterranean and lime from Latin America.

Pomarańcza (Orange)

Belvedere Pomarancza uses a combination of natural sweet oranges, mandarins, and orange blossoms from the Mediterranean and limes from Latin America.

The design on the bottle features the Belweder Palace (Polish: Pałac Belwederski), a former residence of Poland's Marshal Józef Piłsudski, and the first residence of Lech Wałęsa before he moved to the Namiestnikowski Palace to complete his one and only term as Poland's president. The cork is replaceable rather than a screw-top cap, which is common for polish brands of vodka. It is sold in 50 ml, 375 ml, 750 ml, 1000 ml, 1500 ml (Magnum), 3000 ml (Jeroboam), 6000 ml (Methuselah) size bottles.

Hip hop artists such as The Game have given free advertisements to Belvedere Vodka by mentioning it in many of their songs. The Game mentions that his drink of choice is Belvedere vodka with the Snapple flavor Go Bananas in the title track of his second album Doctor's Advocate. Rapper Jay-Z mentions Belvedere in several songs on the album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. Jagged Edge also mentions Belvedere in the song Where the Party At. Juicy J also mentions Belvedere Vodka and cranberry juice in the song "Smoke Dat Weed"^{[citation needed]}.

Belvedere Vodka

• Nose: Faint hint of vanilla along with some gentle, soft cream characteristics.
• Palate: Full and round with a medium bodied weight and rich, velvety texture. some vanilla swaying between sweet and savoury with a hint of white pepper and spice.
• Finish: Good length with notes of almond, clotted cream and some faint almond and brazil nut characteristics.

Belvedere Cytrus

• Nose: Fresh, pure and very dense fragrance of crisp citrus with lime notes.
• Palate: Complex and well-balanced. crisp, clean, inviting with the lemon and lime notes seamlessly integrated.
• Finish: Clean, with lively acidity.

Belvedere Pomarancza

• Nose: Refined natural, floral flavours with an orange-blossom nose and an elegant and complex layered bouquet of orange flavours.
• Palate: A touch of sweetness is followed by floral mandarin and evocative sweet orange, tempered by clean savoury lime.
• Finish: Lingers over notes of citrus blossom and ripe mandarins.

The superior quality of Belvedere can be seen in its consistency, its essence, its singularity. An artful balance is struck between purification and the preservation of the key elements that lend Belvedere its distinct taste; smooth but never bland, characterful but never coarse. None of these qualities are attained by simply and mechanically distilling to the point of anonymity. A respect for this balance is drawn from the craftsmanship of the distillery, Polmos Zyrardòw. Harnessing over 600 years of vodka producing tradition, the distillery follows a well crafted process that ensures only the finest of ingredients and a precise distillation process are used when creating this unique spirit.

Belvedere is crafted using only the most select Polish rye, unlike other vodkas which use less noble ingredients such as molasses or mixed grains. Dankowskie gold rye is grown successfully in the fertile heartland of Mazovia and is cherished for its uniquely soft texture and flavour. The natural sweetness of the grain is an integral part of Belvedere’s distinct character, no additives are used.

Dankowskie Gold Rye

• First cultivated in 1880.
• A white, winter rye, planted in September and October, harvested in July.
• Cherished for its soft but distinct flavour.
• Unusually high percentage of starch, 65 per cent by volume: this is essential for the unique taste and character of Belvedere. (The average starch content in rye ranges from 54 – 60%).
• Over 20kg of rye is needed to produce a bottle of Belvedere.

Belvedere is distilled four times, the optimum number for enhancing its subtle sweetness and smooth, clean finish. The distillation process is based on the principle that alcohol and water have different boiling points. Continuous distillation removes impurities condensed in a low alcohol wash by heating the solution. Distillation takes place after several days of slow fermentation. It serves to separate and remove impurities that have a lower and higher boiling point than (ethyl) alcohol.

Polmos Zyrardów is one of very few distilleries in Poland to have its own water source. The distillery also uses a proprietary water purification system that relies on reverse osmosis. The water from the artesian well is used throughout the distillation process, as well as for sterilizing the bottles prior to the bottling of Belvedere, which ensures an entirely clean process is maintained. These two free-flowing wells draw water through at least seven mineral beds that were formed around 30 million years ago. The water is transported from the wells through to the purification system in an entirely closed system. The water purification process involves eleven steps and eight stages of quality control to achieve a water with ideal properties; Hardness=0 PH=7.4 Purity=100%

Once the grain has been through its distillation process and Polmos Zyrardów’s artesian well water has been purified, the two raw materials are brought together gradually to allow the water and the spirit to integrate. During this process, called 'blending' the Master Distiller will monitor and once the blend has reached 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) he will allow the new spirit to rest. After a few days, the Master Distiller will send the vodka to be filtered.

Belvedere is filtered twice, once through a cellulose filter that will remove microscopic particles and then through an activated carbon filter. Effective filtration needs to be carried out slowly and with care; it will take over one hour to filter ten cubic meters of Belvedere. After filtration is complete and three further quality checks are carried out, the vodka is ready for bottling.

Consistent quality is maintained throughout each step of production. This is ensured by the 33 quality control checkpoints which occur during the entire process, one which has earned Polmos Zyrardów the honour of a Quality Control Certificate from the Polish Government.

All corks are sourced from Portugal and are soaked in Belvedere to make sure they do not influence colour, taste or smell of finished product.

As the iconic bottles are filled they are individually hand finished and inspected. The final step is the hand application of the famous blue strip stamp. Each bottle is then hand checked for any imperfections prior to packaging and shipped to be enjoyed worldwide.

It is sold in 50 ml, 375 ml, 750 ml, 1000 ml, 1500 ml (Magnum), 3000 ml (Jeroboam), 6000 ml (Methuselah) size bottles.

• Belvedere Vodka Official Site
• Consumer Perspective