Stolichnaya Cucumber (700 ml)

When Stolichnaya launched commercially produced flavoured vodkas in 1962 — decades before the category became mainstream — it established a production philosophy that cucumber expression now inherits: natural flavour addition over a technically disciplined base spirit. That base begins in Tambov's Black Earth (Chernozem) region, where winter and spring wheat with a minority proportion of rye are milled, mashed, and fermented to ~12% ABV over approximately 72 hours using Danish dried yeast. Continuous five-column rectification at Talvis Distillery exits at 96.3% ABV, with the mash column operating under vacuum at 60°C and vapour passing through a copper cartridge for sulphur removal. The defining technical signature is a narrow-cut discipline — discarding all spirit below 67.2°C and above 79.0°C — preserving faint wheat-derived cereal character rather than chasing full neutrality. At Latvijas Balzams in Riga, artesian well water drawn from 200-metre-deep wells and treated by reverse osmosis is blended in, followed by four-stage filtration: quartz sand, Russian birch wood charcoal, woven cloth, and a final polish. Cucumber flavouring is added to this foundation, with 1.8 g/L residual sugar rounding the palate. The result sits unusually close to the base spirit's grain character — the cucumber reads as fresh and vegetal rather than confected, anchored by the rye-derived pepper finish beneath.