Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1037369
66 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 T here's no denying France's de- ant spirit. From the Revolu- tion of 1789 to the country's modern notoriety for labor strikes and protests, it's clear the French stand rm when it comes to dismantling the out - dated old-world order. Thanks to Guil- lotine Vodka creator Paul Berkmann, this revolutionary sensibility has carried over to the spirits world as well—specically into a category that's seen little innovation in recent times. With a career built in media and event management, Berkmann seemed an unlikely Robespierre, but that all changed when he attended a Parisian beverage conference in 2015. After seeing the world's spirits on display, he wondered why Cognac, Armagnac, rum, tequila, and whiskey are all aged, but never vodka. The instructor of the seminar laughed at Berk - mann's naivete and launched into a winded historical explanation. At the time of its creation in 15th- century Eastern Europe, vodka could be distilled from any raw material. In the late 1400s, Czar Ivan III of Russia recognized the taxation of vodka as a protable opportu - nity and declared a state monopoly on the spirit. These regulations remained in place until civil unrest caused by outrageous pric- ing and lack of accessibility necessitated that they be overturned. Vodka remained highly popular after the abolition of serfdom in the 1860s. Political leaders of the time sourced their vodkas from grapes grown in the Russian Georgia region, but the majority of the peasant class had no money and were distilling highly toxic spirits from wood. Czar Nicholas II be - lieved affordable and accessible vodka could prove an important tool in addressing the growing civil unrest that predated the even - tual revolution of 1907, and he allegedly commissioned chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, formulator of the Periodic Law, to create a standardized recipe. With a goal for all citizens to be able to afford a bottle of vodka for a ruble or less, the czar and Mendeleev hoped to avoid bloody conict. Their original recipe was distilled from grain, which burned, so its aggressive quality was tempered and sweetened with the addition of citric acid or glycerin. This made the spirit impossible to age due to chemical reactions between vanillin and oak inside the barrels. Yet what others assumed as historical fact, Berkmann took as a personal chal - lenge. By combining the nest natural in- gredients with artisanal French techniques, he sought to innovate within a stagnant yet diversely consumed category by creat - ing the world's rst aged sipping vodka. Berkmann knew from the get-go what he wanted to make, but to nail down the how, he headed back to his alma mater, the University of Poitier, in the Cognac region. There he met his par tner and now–Cellar Master Jean-Luc Braud, who had spent years working with Cognac at Rémy-Cointreau. Berkmann and Braud decided they would make two expressions: an unaged Guillotine Vodka creator Paul Berkmann displays France's newest sipping revolution: his Limousin oak–aged Champagne grape vodka. by Mara Marski