Polugar No. 2 Garlic and Pepper Vodka
Polugar No. 2 Garlic and Pepper Vodka is a 750mL bottle of historic Russian-style "bread wine" bottled at 38.5% ABV (77 proof). Baked garlic and hot pepper go directly into the copper pot before the third distillation of the rye-and-wheat base — then the spirit is clarified with egg whites and filtered through white birchwood charcoal, exactly as 18th-century distillers did. If your Bloody Mary has been tasting flat, this is the fix — order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 38.5% (77 proof) — the historic "half-gar" strength
- Size: 750mL
- Base: Rye and wheat, triple-distilled in copper pot stills
- Flavor: Garlic and hot pepper added before the third distillation
- Clarification: Egg-white fining + white birchwood charcoal filtration
- Distillery: Rodionov & Sons Distillery, Poland
The Bloody Mary Base That Tastes Like Something
Modern flavored vodkas are built on neutral spirit with additives. No. 2 works the old way: the flavorings go into the pot before the third distillation, so the garlic and pepper become part of the spirit rather than a coating on it. The recipe tradition comes from vodka historian Boris Rodionov, who recovered original bread-wine recipes from the Russian National Museum; his family's Polish distillery reproduces the copper pot stills from 18th-century drawings. The result is warm and savory — bready grain up front, a wave of pepper heat, a lingering garlic finish — and it has earned its reputation among vodka nerds as the single best Bloody Mary base money can buy.
Tasting Notes
The entry is coyly garlicky with a chili-pepper flare; warmth from the capsaicin builds without ever turning fiery. The mid-palate sits embers-warm from the chili influence, softened by brown, bready grain character, and the finish is calm, savory, and zesty. There's nothing harsh or chemical here — just elegant spice carried on an oily, full body.
How to Enjoy
Sip it slightly chilled and neat first, so you can taste the bread-wine character beneath the spice. Then build the Bloody Marisha: Polugar No. 2, fresh tomato juice, shaken with ice and garnished with lemon and celery. It also works in savory cocktails and — unusually for a vodka — in actual cooking, where the importer's tasting panel recommends it for culinary applications. Compare it against its savory sibling, the Polugar No. 3 Caraway, to see how differently two infused bread wines can drink.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Polugar No. 2 Garlic and Pepper spicy?
Warm, not fiery. The importer's tasting notes describe "warmth from the capsaicin but not fiery" — an embers-warm mid-palate with a calm, savory finish.
Why is it good in a Bloody Mary?
Because the garlic and pepper are distilled into the spirit rather than added afterward, the flavor holds up to tomato juice and holds its line through ice — it's built for the drink.
What is bread wine?
The pre-1895 Russian style of grain spirit: pot-distilled like whisky, full of grain character, nothing like neutral modern vodka. Polugar is a revival of it.
Why is the ABV 38.5%?
That's the historic "half-gar" proof from the old burn-off test — the whole Polugar range is bottled at this traditional strength.
For the best Bloody Mary of your life, grab Polugar No. 2 Garlic and Pepper Vodka online from Del Mesa Liquor — San Diego, CA's source for spirits that don't play it neutral.