Clean & Pure Vodka
Time for vodka to get some real love! Vodka has steadily been the number one selling spirit in America. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, U.S. vodka sales volume amounted to about 76.9 million 9-liter cases in 2022. In spite of how many people drink vodka, it continually gets a bad rap as being cheap and terrible tasting. Vodka is actually defined as “the odorless and tasteless” spirit.
Formerly, the TTB’s standards of identity read, “'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.” Dispite the wide variety of vodka on the market today the TTB currently states., “Vodka will continue to be distinguished by its specific production standards: Vodka may not be labeled as aged, and unlike other neutral spirits, it may contain limited amounts of sugar and citric acid.”
Flo Vinger, VING Vodka founder & CEO, hated vodka and couldn’t understand why. She says, “I know if I could make a vodka I liked, I would be on to something.” Vodka has been mostly used in cocktails and mixed drinks such as martinis, cosmopolitans, vodka tonics, and screwdrivers. Flo continues, “I wanted to understand why vodkas are not traditionally sipped and enjoyed. I really felt like flavor, aroma, and a natural mouth feel from organic corn and organic infusions would be the difienation factor to making VING Vodka the best, purest and cleanest tasting vodka with a melo effect and not a hash crash from additives and added sugars or synthetic ingreadents. So, that’s why I used organic neutral-grain spirits from corn. I wanted a naturally sweet flavor.”
Vodka is also very pure by nature; vodka has no, cholesterol, sodium, yeast, carbs, or fat. It simply contains water and ethanol.
At 40% AVB, the average AVB for vodka, a large portion of VING Vodka and other vodkas are made from water. So, it’s important the quality and source of the water.
There is a lot of focus on “how many times distilled” because distillers learned the benefits of distilling vodka multiple times, a higher alcohol content with higher quality. One of the most important processes of cleaning alcohol, organic or not, is filtration. Using charcoal in the distillation process is an important part of purifying vodka.
Vodka also does change in flavor. If left out in the heat, opened or unopened flavor and burn will be affected. Over time that “burn” of vodka may be found to dissipate as well as Melo in flavor.
Additives are a huge part of the ingredients in most alcohols that are used to affect flavor and mouth feel, especially canned cocktails. Some of the additives used in alcohol are glycerine, sugar, honey, editable plyhydrate citric acid, D-Limonene, a cyclized monoterpene, possesses citrus-like olfactory property and multi-physiological functions, which can be used as a bioactive compound and flavor to improve the overall quality of alcoholic beverages.
Many of the most popular canned cocktails are mascaraiding as vodka but are really malt liquor. Wine Enthusiasts reports, “Malt beverages are fermented and brewed like beer, and they’re considered beer by U.S. regulators. They skip the extra step of distillation needed to be considered a spirit. Most often, citric, malic, tartaric and/or phosphoric acids are used in place of fresh citrus to give brightness and acidity. Citric acid is most commonly used to replicate the tartness and sourness that citrus would typically provide, though it doesn’t add citrusy flavor. It’s also sometimes added to balance out sugar, control pH or lengthen shelf life. Malt beverages are fermented and brewed like beer, and they’re considered beer by U.S. regulators. They skip the extra step of distillation needed to be considered a spirit.”
If a canned drink is less than 10% alcohol by volume (abv), it’s more likely that preservatives are used to ward off microbial growth. Potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate and other preservatives are often added. ome producers add natural or artificial colors to brighten up drinks. Those colors come from artificial dyes like FD&C No. 5. Usually, there’s no flavor or texture impact. Natural and artificial flavorings help compensate for the lack of juices and other fresh ingredients in canned cocktails. Quality and variety can vary, but examples include limonene or citralene, extracts used to mimic fruit flavors.
Gum Arabic, also known as acacia gum, is a natural emulsifier and stabilizer that also gives beverages enhanced mouthfeel and texture. Stabilizers are additives used to help maintain emulsions or prevent degeneration in beverages. Among the most common stabilizers are hydrocolloids (such as xanthan, gum arabic and gum acacia), modified starches, pectin, carrageenan, casein and inulin. The purpose of stabilizers is to add viscosity to enhance flavor and give body to a beverage. They also maintain emulsification, which prevents sedimentation by keeping additional ingredients suspended in the product.
In wine Potassium Metabisulphite is a chemical that effectively deactivates the yeast in your wine and helps preserve it from unwanted bacteria.
A controversial preservative is called Velcorin® dosing (Dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC)). The active ingredient penetrates the cell wall to get inside yeast, fungus or bacteria cells and deactivates vital enzymes, thus killing the cells. DMDC was first discovered as a food preservative in 1950. It gained widespread use in Europe and other parts of the world in the 1970s and 1980s. DMDC is commonly used in the production of wine, fruit juices, and other beverages. It is a colorless liquid and a pungent odor at high concentrations at room temperature. It is primarily used as a beverage preservative, processing aid, or sterilant being highly active against typical beverage-spoiling microorganisms like yeast, bacteria, or mold. Velcorin must be dosed into the beverage using an approved Velcorin dosing machine. Velcorin has been used in the U.S. since 1988. Its approvals include use in wine, low-alcohol wine, non-alcoholic wine, cider, juice, juice sparklers, sports drinks, and ready-to-drink teas. VELCORIN is very effective at low dosages against a broad range of yeast, bacteria and molds. Unlike other chemical preservatives, Velcorin is non-persistent and does not affect cider taste, aroma or color. Velcorin can remain active for several hours. If you drink a beverage within 24 hours of when it was dosed with Velcorin, it can have serious results. This is the safety warning from one service provider: "Velcorin is a potentially dangerous chemical which can be moderately toxic if ingested within 24 hours after application. Do not ingest wine or juice products during this time period."
DMDC is generally considered safe for use in food and beverage production at low concentrations. However, high concentrations of DMDC can be toxic and cause adverse health effects. In scientific experiments, DMDC should be used with caution, and all safety protocols should be followed to minimize exposure. Victus Datasheet on Velcorin® reports: Harmful if swallowed, fatal if inhaled, causes severe skin burns and eye damage, Ingestion : Rinse mouth with water. Consult a physician. Do not induce vomiting unless directed to do by medical personnel. Skin contact : Take off contaminated clothing and shoes immediately and place it in water. Wash skin with soap and plenty of water. If skin reaction occurs, contact a physician. Eye contact : Get medical attention immediately. Immediately flush eyes with plenty of water, occasionally lifting the upper and lower eyelids. Check for and remove any contact lenses. Continue to rinse for at least 15 min. Chemical burns must be treated promptly by a physician.Read the full report.
Foodprotection. org reports: ”After hearing the description of DMDC, many did not understand how a chemical could break into two components and no longer be present in the juice when a consumer purchased it. Participants thought that if DMDC had been added, it must still be present in the juice. Some queried how much methanol was present in the juice and whether the amount was harmful. People wondered whether DMDC was used in other countries. Several were reassured by its approval in Europe. The fact that DMDC was already in tea, sports drinks, flavored water, and other products was reassuring. One woman said, “So we are already drinking it, and we are okay.” People believed food companies wanted to use DMDC to avoid the cost of pasteurization. When they were reminded that the taste of fresh-squeezed juice and customer safety were the driving forces behind this approach, several”. Read the full report.
The United States and the FDA does not require brands to list Velcorin® as an additive. The use of Velcorin is authorized for various drinks in Europe, the USA, and many other countries. The EU’s Scientific Committee on Food, the FDA, and the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the FAO and the WHO have documented the product’s harmlessness.
We have been unable to find any reports on long-term affects of the use of DMDC.
Our VING Classic Twist Ultra-Premium Carbonated Canned Cocktail (7.1% AVB), VING LA Spritzer Carbonated Canned Cocktail (7.1% AVB), and our VING Turnt Tea (10% AVB) Ultra-Premium cold pressed still tea Canned Cocktail are all made with VING Vodka Classic vodka as the base.
VING Vodka is the cleanest spirit possible which is why we say “Word’s Cleanest Vodka”. VING is free of all additives, free of sugar, free of synthetic ingredients, free of fake flavor and we only use real organic produce for our infusions.
VING Vodka is a California Vodka, made in Ventura and run in Los Angeles, California. Women-owned and run and certified by the WBENC. VING Organic Vodka. Organic Vodka.