Polugar Wheat Vodka

Polugar Wheat Vodka (750mL, 38.5% ABV) is not really vodka as the modern world knows it — it is bread wine, the drink that was vodka's father and whisky's brother. Before the column still, Russia's grain spirit was pot-distilled like whisky, smelling and tasting of freshly baked bread. Vodka historian Boris Rodionov recovered the original recipes of the Russian aristocracy of the 1700s, and his family meticulously reproduced 18th-century copper pot stills from period drawings to make it again. This selection is a blend of malted and unmalted wheat, triple-distilled in those stills, clarified with egg whites, and purified with white birchwood charcoal — bottled at the historic 38.5%, the "half-gar" strength the old burn-off test produced. Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.

• ABV: 38.5% (the traditional "polugar" half-gar strength — "polugar" means half-burned)
• Size: 750mL
• Grain: Blend of malted and unmalted wheat
• Process: Triple-distilled in copper pot stills reproduced from 18th-century drawings; egg white fining; white birchwood charcoal filtration; natural water, not chemically purified
• Heritage: Recipes of the Russian aristocracy, 1700s; revived by the Rodionov family, distilled in Poland
• Awards: Best of Category — Certified Craft Distilled – International, Specialty Spirit, American Distilling Institute 2020; 5/5 Stars — Highest Recommendation, Spirit Journal 2016

The Spirit Vodka Was Before Vodka

In 1895, Tsar Alexander III ordered every pot still in Russia broken down and restricted distillation to government-licensed column stills — and the nuanced, bread-scented spirit of the aristocracy vanished into history, replaced by the cleaner, blander vodka we know today. The Rodionov family spent years reversing that: restoring an old distillery tucked in a Polish forest, rebuilding copper pot stills from 18th-century drawings, and distilling exactly the way the 1700s did. The bottle itself is a period piece, modeled on Queen Elizabeth's personal snuff-bottle, circa 1745, on exhibit at the Russian National Museum. Discover the Polugar range or explore our vodka collection for spirits with a story this deep — and compare it against modern craft vodka.

Tasting Notes

An assertive breakfast-cereal aroma shows remnants of soybean and candle wax, with scents of apple, white grape, and yellow plum. The entry is clean, dry, and deeply grainy; the palate is cereal-like, raisiny, and acutely ripe. Apple-like acidity in the mid-palate keeps everything fresh through a long finish. This is vodka with the volume turned up on grain — closer to a white whisky than to anything neutral.

How to Enjoy

Slightly chilled and neat — that is how the brand intends it, and how the grain character shows best. It is also a fascinating cocktail ingredient for drinks that benefit from real grain flavor. For food, follow the brand's own pairings: salt-cured meats, mushroom roulade, roast pork, sausage dishes, hummus with black bread, and traditional Eastern European soups like borscht and sour cabbage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Polugar means "half-burned." Before alcohol meters existed, strength was tested by boiling two portions of the distillate together into one — burning off half the volume. The resulting spirit was 38.5% ABV, and that became Polugar's defining strength.

It belongs to an older category: Russian bread wine, the pre-column-still ancestor of modern vodka. It is pot-distilled three times like a whisky, which is why the brand calls it the father of vodka and the brother of whisky.

The recipes are Russian and the copper pot stills were reproduced from 18th-century Russian drawings, but the spirit is distilled at the Rodionov & Sons Distillery in Poland — copper pot stills have been prohibited in Russia since 1895.

Deeply grainy: breakfast cereal and fresh bread on the nose, apple and white grape notes, a clean dry grainy entry, and a raisiny, ripe palate with apple-like acidity keeping the long finish fresh.

Taste the spirit history almost erased: order Polugar Wheat Vodka online from Del Mesa Liquor and pour three centuries of Russian distilling tradition.