Wheat Polugar is made solely from wheat, which provides a plumper texture, with a sweet richness, and touches of grass and stone fruit. This single grain spirit is distilled three times in small batches in copper pot stills, followed by purification using egg whites and birch charcoal. It is presented in a reconstruction of Tsarina Elizabeth's personal bottle from 1745. Polugar is the historic vodka from the Russian Empire, enjoyed throughout Russia by the aristocracy and peasants alike as the national spirit until 1895 when, following a decree of Czar Alexander III, all the pot stills were broken up. All production was converted to what we know today as vodka, distilled in government licensed and taxed column stills.Polugar is a more ancient type of spirit. It is quite different from modern vodka, rather more akin to legendary Russian bread wine, the noble father of vodka. It is said that the first Moscow tavern allowed to serve distilled liquor in Russia was exclusively reserved for the oprichniki, Ivan the Terrible’s secret police. Throughout Russian history, vodka was similar to whiskey; the smell and flavor reminiscent of freshly baked bread, heavily exhibiting the grains used to make it, and was known as bread wine.In 1895 Tsar Alexander III decreed to have all pot stills in Russia broken down. Subsequently, distillation processes were restricted to government licensed and taxed column stills, establishing the method for producing the crystalline, less nuanced spirit that we now know as vodka today.The Rodionov family spearheaded a movement to restore the traditional grain spirits enjoyed during the golden age of Russia. Boris Rodionov, a renowned academic and vodka historian, discovered the original recipe for the national bread wine spirit. With legislation forbidding the Polugar style of grain distillation in Russia, the Rodionov family restored an old distillery tucked away in a forest in Poland to reestablish the glory of the legendary spirit.Each Polugar selection is produced in accordance with an authentic recipe from the 18th century, using carefully selected grains and naturally pure water.The art of Polugar distillation has returned, thanks to the research and passion of Boris Rodionov, a noted Russian vodka historian and scientist who has reproduced an 18th century recipe at the authentic strength of 38.5%. As the ban remains in place in Russia, it is now crafted in a micro-distillery in Poland, within the 19th century borders of the Russian Empire.
