Most people/countries/regions in days gone by before transportation expanded areas, fermented and distilled what they had available. This also changed seasonally as different crops came into harvest. You mentioned Poland and potatoes. A very common and cheap way of making vodka but most probably the worst vodka for you. Potatoes can be stored for a long time, but when they ran out there were grains that could be fermented.
Ethanol can be made out of anything that will ferment. Typically, the region it was made in gave the product the characteristics that made whiskey from Scotland, schnaaps from Germany, rum from the carribean, soju in Korea, baijui from rice or sorgum in China, and so it goes on. The Scots didn't have sugar cane but they had grains. They could not have made rum if they had wanted to - way back. When many of them emigrated to America they found they could grow corn. So they fermented that. With a lot of corn left over it was more profitable to make corn whiskey than sell the corn. Transporting the product in an oak barrel on the back of a swaying mule lent colour to whiskey.
Bottom line, you can make vodka out of anything. Vodka is distilled to a higher level than whiskey, rum, brandy, etc. I take mine up to 95% and remove all taste and smell. I start out with the same beer as I make my rum. It is the distilling and configuration of the still with which I arrive at a different end product.
Hope that answers your question.Statistics: Posted by RumJohn — Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:34 am
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