Ill.: CEDC International & www.needpix.com, montage: laidbackgardener.blog
If you’re into fine liqueurs, check this one out: ?ubrówka Bison Grass Vodka (pronounce the name zoo-BROV-ka), a Polish vodka. It’s a flavored rye vodka, not colorless like most vodkas, but with a faint golden tinge, and offering notes of sweet woodruff, vanilla, coconut and almonds. It’s said to be one of the finest vodkas in the world and is usually served chilled on its own or mixed with apple juice.
And you’ll instantly recognize it by the blade of grass in each bottle.
The grass is said to be bison grass (Hierochloe odorata), ?ubrówka in colloquial Polish, but you might recognize it under the more common names sweet grass, vanilla grass or holy grass. If it’s called bison grass in Poland, that’s because it’s said to grow in fields where the wisent (European bison, Bison bonasus) feeds. The grass is indeed sourced from the Bia?owie?a Forest in Poland, home to some 800 wisents, and is hand-picked and dried under natural conditions.
However, sweet grass is found growing wild all over the Northern Hemisphere and no bisons need to be present. It is, among others, the sacred grass of the indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States where it is used in smudging ceremonies.
It’s the bison grass that gives the vodka its unique flavor. It contains coumarin, an aromatic organic chemical compound, used as a flavoring agent.
Not Available in the USA
True ?ubrówka Bison Grass Vodka is not available in the United States, although the Polish manufacturer now markets a substitute product under the same name for the American market.
That’s because coumarin has medicinal uses (it’s used as a blood thinner) and can be toxic in large doses. As a result, the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) classifies coumarin as a “substance generally prohibited from direct addition or use as human food,” in spite of the fact that it is found in many fruits, including strawberries, cherries, apricots and black currants, none of which are currently banned.
Also, the quantity of coumarin found in bison grass vodka is too small to have any harmful effect, although the alcohol (which, curiously, is not banned, even though it too is toxic in large doses) it contains can have harmful effects if consumed in important quantities, as many of us know first-hand.
But rules are rules, so the ?ubrówka vodka company spent millions on producing an equivalent vodka using different legally accepted herbs and launched the new product in the American market in 2011. It still includes a blade of bison grass in the bottle … although it has been specially treated to render it coumarin-free.
True bison grass vodka, with unadulterated bison grass, is, however, available in some 80 other countries worldwide.
Make Sure You Get the Real Deal
Do note that the manufacturer, CEDC International, also produces classic white vodkas under the ?ubrówka name, but without added bison grass and in fact, is one of the largest vodka manufacturers in the world.
All ?ubrówka vodkas show a bison on the label (it’s their emblem), but only bison grass vodka will actually have a blade of grass in the bottle.
NB. No bisons were harmed in the writing of this article.
I am literally drinking this vodka as I am reading the article. Even more correct pronunciation is ‘zhoo-BROV-ka’. I just bought it today in the supermarket and since I am based in EU it is not the US-modified version.
The price here is around 21 euro (approx 23 USD) for 0,7 L bottle. It is of course a flavored vodka and very smooth, none of the typical ‘medicinal alcohol’ smell or taste. I wanted to try it for quite some time since I heard so much about this vodka already – the stuff excellently summarized in the very knowledgeable article above.
I did not know about this blog and stumbled upon it because of the vodka article. Sad to hear that the author passed away.
Kind regards.
I have been drinking Zubrowka for a few years. It I my favourite. Recently the ?? BC govt liquor stores pulled it off their shelves. Haven’t been able to find anything similar. I am pretty upset about it. See no reason for it.
I tried Zubrovka when I was living in the USSR. Only had a single shot and it knocked me flat on my back. The hangover the next day was indescribably agonizing! NEVER. AGAIN.
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One more reason to not consume alcohol . . . as if I needed another.
Thank you for pointing out how hypocritical the FDA is. It’s really amazing how decisions like these are made by them.
And I loved how you nicely pointed out how time and quantity can make a difference as to the toxicity of certain things. Right-O! ????
i am new to your blog. how can i research other topics you have posted. i wrote to you about a topic and have not had a response.
On the left side, there is a menu and at the very bottom of the menu… way down, a “search” box where you can look up previous articles.