Belvedere Vodka is the original and true expression of luxury vodka, created from 600 years of Polish vodka-making tradition. All-natural, no additives, no sugar added. A deliciously smooth Polish vodka with a faint vanilla nose, creamy sensation on the palate, and velvety round finish.

The key to Belvedere vodkas is the variety of rye that is used. Dankowskie rye is a winter grain recognized as the gold standard for vodka, and it’s the only variety used for Belvedere. It’s a naturally sweet grain, and in Belvedere it produces nuanced but defined flavours and an elegant, soft texture. The water (drawn from two artesian wells close to Belvedere’s distillery in Żyrardów, Poland, near Warsaw) used in its production cannot be allowed to dilute these qualities, so it is filtered and subjected to reverse osmosis to remove almost all minerals and salts.

In order to be labelled Polska Wódka (Polish Vodka), vodka must be made from specified Polish grains or potatoes and Polish water, and cannot have any artificial additives. Recently, the country created the Polish Vodka appellation to protect the quality of the spirit. Even Belvedere’s fruit-flavoured vodkas draw on peel or zest (for lemon and lime), or whole fruits (mango and grapefruit), which are macerated for 10 to 14 days.

Variant rye, Dankowskie Diamond (registered in 2008), is used for Belvedere Unfiltered. It’s a bakers’-grade grain that’s lower in starches and produces less spirit than many other ryes, and it has natural salinity. Belvedere decided not to subject this more intense and complex vodka to filtering, which can strip out some of the flavours. Tasted straight, Belvedere Unfiltered which has been called “the whisky drinker’s vodka” is one of the most interesting vodkas around. It shows a hint of saltiness, with added flavours of nuts, brioche, and pepper, and some sweet notes are thrown in for good measure. It’s best served over a slice of cucumber, with an optional dash of freshly ground black pepper.