Vodka has long been described as a spiritless spirit—without distinctive character, aroma, taste or colour—but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Not all vodkas are mere vehicles for cranberry juice, and nobody understands this more than Belvedere, an exceptional brand that’s been challenging the status quo since 1993.
Belvedere sets the benchmark for what luxury vodka should be. Produced in the small and intimate confines of the Polmos Żyrardów distillery, which has been making vodka since 1910, the brand stands at the pinnacle of a 600-year Polish distilling tradition. It pioneered the notion that terroir exists in vodka, owing its key flavours to Dankowskie rye, a naturally sweet grain that achieves the distinct character that connoisseurs love: soft, elegant and defined.
Standing proud at the peak of Belvedere’s craftsmanship is Belvedere 10, a new luxury vodka that pays tribute to the brand and its origins. Inspired by Polmos Żyrardów’s first recipe in 1910, this is a sipping vodka that’s in a class of its own—a whisky drinker’s vodka, if you will.
Belvedere 10 is lovely on the nose without the harshness of alcohol, and with a delightful mouthfeel, coating your palate with a creaminess that leads to hints of honey and bursts of caramel, before finishing with a nutty praline and rich cacao. Sip it, slightly chilled, neat or on the rocks. It is so effortlessly smooth that you wouldn’t want to mess with the flavours it already has.
Everything done to create this single-estate expression has been meticulously considered across 10 steps. For this particular release, one special variety of organic rye is used—the Dankowskie Diamond Rye. Selected for its nuanced and refined character, it is cultivated in one field of one farm on the Bartężek estate in Poland’s Masurian Lake District, where the agricultural climate is excellent. Through organic and biodynamic practices nurtured by snow and sun, the field produces a limited yet perfect annual yield of this gold standard of rye. A year later, it is harvested at one specific moment during the summer, when it is optimal for spirit quality and smoothness.
The rye is then gently heated over fire with water to produce a mash that’s rich in character, before a unique distiller’s yeast and enzymes are mixed in to kickstart the fermentation process and unlock the flavours. Small-batch distillation, which occurs four times through copper columns heated by fire, further elevates the spirit’s depth and character. “The key here is not to impart new flavour. Our unique recipe is rested to marry, enhance and develop texture, flavour and smoothness harmoniously,” says Mike Foster, Belvedere’s Global Trade Engagement and Customer Experience Manager.
If it tastes that good, it may as well look the part. Belvedere 10 is more than just a bottle, but a testament to art and modern elegance, and a tribute to its origins and painstaking 10-step recipe. At ’10 levels tall’, it is the world’s tallest bottle of vodka—a totem of excellence and the main event at all celebrations.
“Taste, vision and mastery converge in a flawless performance,” says president and CEO Francois Xavier Desplancke. “Capturing the unedited, uncompromising mood of modern culture, Belvedere 10 and its stunning bottle are simplistic in its purity, yet architecturally magnificent.”
Polished and refined with the name ‘Belvedere’ discreetly engraved on its gold neck, the bottle is cast in a glossy white finish and faceted like a diamond, a nod to the rye used in its precious liquid. It shines bright, but only for those who know what’s best.
At a starting price of $670, Belvedere 10 is available at top international dance clubs, hotels and bars in Singapore, such as Marquee and MO Bar.
