Poland native Tadeusz “Tad” Dorda based Chopin Vodka in 1993. In November 2023, after touring world wide to host vodka masterclasses and tastings in celebration of the model’s thirtieth anniversary, he greeted ELEVATE attendees throughout their first official luncheon.
Whereas there, he shared the story of how Chopin Vodka — named after Poland’s most well-known composer — got here to be and adjusted the spirit’s panorama over the previous three a long time.
“Vodka [was] one thing that the majority of us … eat[d],” he stated, “however no one actually [knew] something about it.” Dorda determined to vary that by creating Chopin, the world’s first luxurious vodka. In doing so, he helped to shift its notion. As soon as generally known as bland and boring, it’s now acknowledged as a nuanced spirit, meant to be savored and appreciated.
Through the years, Dorda’s potato distillation garnered spectacular accolades for potato-based vodka, together with gold medals from the Chicago Beverage Testing Institute and double gold on the San Francisco World Spirits Competitors.
In the present day, Chopin continues to be a small, family-owned enterprise that operates out of a distillery in Poland. It’s recognized for its three single-ingredient vodkas—made with potato, rye, and wheat—in addition to Chopin Household Reserve, a one-of-a-kind, tremendous premium potato vodka.
What makes Chopin Household Reserve particular, Dorda stated, is that it’s made with a specific kind of potato that accommodates nearly no starch. These potatoes—harvested about three months sooner than normal, on the peak of summer time whereas nonetheless younger and tender—have been rigorously distilled to retain as a lot of their earthy taste as potential. Subsequent, the spirit sat in 50-year-old Polish oak barrels for 2 years. Lastly, the vodka was hand bottled for distribution.
Dorda suggests having fun with it neat to really recognize its earthy sweetness and high notes of licorice and clove. “We’re very happy with it,” he exclaims. “We do every thing ourselves.”
