The EU vodka issue is not mainly a matter of taste. It is a matter of respect for different traditions and customs. We have been drinking vodka made from potatoes or cereals in the Baltics, Nordics, Poland, Ukraine and Russia since centuries and it is an essential part of our national identity. The importance is e.g. reflected by the letter recently sent by the Russian Duma to the European Parliament. To my knowledge this is the first time this has happened.

Isn't this test that BBC made totally pointless? I know by experience that good vodka tasters can sense the difference between vodkas produced from grain, grapes and sugarcanes, and this is much more relevant than consumer tastes. A parallell case would be the AOC system for wines from France, and I would love to see BBC making a test how many consumers could tell the difference between a Chassagne and a Puligny. Most MW's probably can not, which does not mean that anyone within the area should be allowed to put anything they want on their labels. I think that these kind of surveys should be kept out of serious discussion groups since they never add any relevant information and, which is worse, often are published as a result of a well performed PR campaign from someone within the business.

Unlike many other spirits, vodka is not determined by ingredients or location, but rather by process. It could be made from anything. By definition: VODKA EU Definition: (1)A spirit drink produced by either rectifying ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, or filtering it through activated charcoal, possibly followed by straight forward distillation or an equivalent treatment, so that the organoleptic characteristics of the raw materials used are selectively reduced. The product may be given special organoleptic characteristics, such as a mellow taste, by the addition of flavoring. (2) Bottled at a minimum alcoholic strength of 37.5 % ABV US Definition (a) Class1: Neutral Spirits or Alcohol: "Neutral Spirits" or "alcohol" are distilled spirits produced from any material at or above 190 deg. proof, and, if bottled, bottled at not less than 80 deg. proof. (1) "Vodka" is neutral spirits so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color. There has been clever marketing gimics with vodka, personally myself i prefer a vodka with a bit of character from the heads and tails, that's what makes each brand unique.

I've been told that people with grain allergies cannot drink grain-based spirits but that other spirits (rum, brandy, potato- or grape-based vodkas) would not trigger an allergic reaction. Any truth to this?

By US law, vodka must be odorless,colorless and tasteless. The hype of numerous brands being made with grapes, corn, wheat or whatever is all a marketing ploy. In blind tastes,almost 85% of those tasting samples of vodka made from all these different sources of starch were unable to tell one brand from another.Goose, Absolut, Ketel & Level are the same, except that each of these brands will have an unusual bottle, ad, or "story of how many times the brand was distilled or filtered".Marketing and clever ads will make a brand, along with a high retail price that gives the consumer the "idea" that expensive equates to "better". Norman Weiner, United States

About 80% of vodka volumes sold in Brazil are made from sugar cane spirits, including some of the best like the recently launched "Snovik" brand are distilled three times and filtered many times more in special charcoal filters. The Smirnoff brand made locally claims to use cereals. In blind tests I witnessed the vast majority of tasters cannot tell the difference.