Euro-MPs deal vodka purists a blow with new definition

(STRASBOURG) - EU lawmakers dealt a blow on Tuesday to Europe's vodka purists by backing a  definition of the spirit that traditionalists fear would water down their favourite tipple.

After sobre reflection, members of the European Parliament backed a proposed definition of vodka that says the spirit must be made from grains or potatoes.

However, to the horror of traditionalists, vodka could also be made from other ingredients like sugarbeets, apples and raisins as long as bottles were properly labelled, according to the text backed by the members of the EU Parliament.

Purists from the EU's so-called vodka belt -- stretching across Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden -- wanted a tight definition that would only allow spirits made only from grain, potatoes and molasses.

These vodka traditionalists, which account for 70 percent of production and 65 percent of consumption in the EU, argued that the spirit should be protected by a narrow definition just like whisky and rum.

However, other countries, eager to tap into the 12-billion-dollar (nine-billion-euro) global vodka trade, wanted a looser definition that would allow the spirits to be made from other ingredients.

Vodka can be made from any agricultural product that ferments after it is distilled into alcohol and water is added.

After Tuesday's vote in the parliament, it will then be up to EU governments to weigh into the vodka debate later this month.