POTATO VODKA SET TO MAKE A COMEBACK TO SUPERMARKETS AS MARKS AND SPENCER BEGIN SELLING BOTTLES READY FOR CHRISTMAS
- M&S are selling a £30-a-bottle brand as a way of using up Jersey Royal spuds
It was once the staple drink of peasants in the Soviet Union, and often dismissed as a cheap bathtub concoction.
But now potato vodka is set to make a comeback as an upmarket spirit on the shelves of Marks and Spencer.
The store is selling a £30-a-bottle brand as a way of using up Jersey Royal spuds too big to sell as salad potatoes.
Vodka can be distilled from any crop containing sugar or starch, but most is made from grains.
The new version, right, takes Jersey Royals harvested on the Channel Islands that are more than 5cm (2in) long and boils them until they break down into sugars.
Yeast is added to make alcohol, which is then distilled in 200-litre (44-gallon) copper stills for 12 to 14 hours before impurities are removed and water added to lower the alcohol content to 42 per cent.
Around 14,000 bottles of the spirit, made by Royal Mash, have been shipped to M&S stores ready for Christmas.
Kathryn Turner, from the retailer, said the new spirit had prevented up to 3,000 tons of potatoes from going to waste, adding that despite potato vodka's reputation as cheap booze, the new brand is 'probably the finest quality vodka on any supermarket shelf'.
Read more 2023-11-18T22:57:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd