8 Things You Should Know About Chopin Vodka, the World’s First ‘Super-Premium’ Vodka

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States defines “super-premium” vodkas as those that retail between $30 and $45, but pricing is just a fraction of what gives a certain vodka the look, feel, and overall impression of luxury. Ultimately, it comes down to deft marketing, storytelling, and — most importantly — a dedication to craftsmanship and high-quality ingredients.

Nowadays, there are plenty of high-end vodka brands that check all of those boxes and enjoy real estate on the upper decks of liquor store shelves, but prior to the early ’90s, that wasn’t the case. Before Cîroc, Grey Goose, and even Belvedere, Poland’s Chopin set the standard for what super-premium vodka would come to mean in the spirits space. Launched in 1993 and named after celebrated Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, the brand has been family-owned from the beginning and has always sought to shed vodka’s stigma as a flavorless spirit devoid of character.

Beyond being a pioneering spirits brand, there’s a lot that makes the brand special. Here are eight things you should know about Chopin vodka.

Chopin is produced with a copper column still from the 1800s.

When brand founder Tadeusz (Tad) Dorda purchased what is now the Chopin distillery, he and his team refurbished much of the facility, but they did hang on to one relic from its past: a copper column still built in 1896. According to the brand, it’s one of the oldest surviving stills in Poland. Every drop of Chopin is distilled four times with this column still before resting in neutral steel to mellow and develop in flavor.

40 potatoes provide one bottle of Chopin vodka.

Chopin is arguably best known for its premium potato vodka. The brand works closely with local farmers to source multiple varieties of potatoes that are then cleaned, cooked, and mashed before being fermented and ultimately distilled. Allegedly, it takes about 40 small potatoes (or roughly 7 pounds of produce) to yield one 750-milliliter bottle of Chopin. After distillation is done, the brand gives its leftover potato mash to the local farmers. They then use it to feed their livestock and fertilize their potato fields.

Chopin reburies potatoes to keep them fresh before distillation.

Although potatoes are technically a perennial crop, in many places — like Poland — farmers typically plant fresh seeds every year and harvest their potatoes in the late-summer months. Since Chopin can’t handle all of its annual vodka production at once, the brand often reburies its potatoes in soil to keep them cool and fresh prior to distillation.

The brand doesn’t just make potato vodka.

In addition to its acclaimed potato vodkas, Chopin also makes a few single-ingredient, grain-based expressions. There’s a wheat vodka that the brand claims is the lightest and most delicate of the bunch. There’s a rye vodka that is said to carry subtle notes of peppery spice. And Chopin also produces an organic rye vodka, crafted with a locally sourced heritage variety called Dańkowskie Ruben. Each expression has slight differences in flavor and texture, making them uniquely suited to different cocktails like the Martini, Bloody Mary, and Moscow Mule.

Chopin’s bottle design pays homage to its terroir-driven production.

The bottle design Chopin uses for the majority of its vodkas mimics that of a Bordeaux wine, and that’s no coincidence. Dorda told VinePair in 2023 that the brand “understand[s] that different grapes grown in different climates have different flavor profiles and textures, as well as different foods and occasions for pairings.” As Chopin only uses local potatoes, rye, and wheat to craft its vodkas, the bottle design is an ode to the brand’s terroir-driven production. Several other super-premium vodka brands, like Belvedere and Grey Goose, have since followed suit with their respective bottle designs.

The brand released one of the most expensive vodkas in the world.

None of Chopin’s baseline bottlings retail for over $35, but some of its limited-edition expressions break that price barrier by a long shot — especially Chopin Vintage Vault. When the brand was established in 1993, the distillers laid a portion of Chopin’s first batch of potato vodka to rest in neutral steel tanks. To honor the brand’s 30th anniversary, it drew from that tank to produce Chopin Vintage Vault. Only 1,000 bottles were released, and each hand-cut crystal decanter comes housed in an alder wood chest lined with faux leather. According to alcohol price and availability search engine Wine-Searcher, a bottle fetches an average price of $3,242, making it one of the most expensive vodkas in the world.

Chopin’s master distiller has been making spirits for over 45 years.

Chopin’s master distiller, Waldemar Durakiewicz, has been with the company from the get-go, but his professional distilling journey began back in 1978. In an interview with Botanika Angelica Liqueurs, Durakiewicz said that distilling was his first job after graduating from college and working in the army, although he had been previously invested in the craft as a hobby in his private life. “I do everything from my heart,” he said in the interview. “So I am proud of everything that I make.

Chopin collaborated with American fashion designer Vera Wang on a limited-edition vodka in 2021.

Acclaimed fashion designer Vera Wang is a big fan of Chopin potato vodka — so much so that she approached the brand to collaborate on a limited-edition vodka a few years ago. According to Chopin, Wang personally chose to produce the vodka with Augusta potatoes, a small yellow variety with blood-red dots on its skin. These potatoes allegedly impart a distinctly sweet and earthy flavor on the finished distillate. The bottle itself bears a matte, black-and-white finish as a nod to Wang’s preferred color palette for her bridal dress designs.

The article 8 Things You Should Know About Chopin Vodka, the World’s First ‘Super-Premium’ Vodka appeared first on VinePair.