Vihula Manor Vodka Museum
If you need to organize a conference or corporate event in the middle of nature and away from the noisy city, then the best historic hotel of Europe 2020 Vihula Manor offers many great opportunities for that only one hour away from Tallinn.
This empowering and unique setting of the Vodka Distillery will surely produce some great idea, so why not organize a meeting there, or simply visit the distillery and gather around for vodka tasting after a workday or enjoy private dinner.
Welcome to Vihula Manor Vodka Museum!
Vihula Manor Vodka Museum is located in the former building of the Vodka Distillery of the manor, which was first mentioned in written sources around 1800. The exposition of the Vodka Museum tells about the history of spirits and vodka production and the development of vodka production in Estonia and Vihula Manor.
Vihula Manor Vodka Museum is open daily from 10:00 – 19:00 o´clock and the entry is free of charge to guests staying at the Manor.
Vihula Manor Vodka Museum vodka collections
Vihula Manor Vodka Museum has four vodka collections with different contents:
COLLECTION OF ESTONIAN VODKAS: in the Great Hall
COLLECTION OF VODKAS FROM AROUND THE WORLD: in the Small Hall
COLLECTION OF RUSSIAN PREMIUM VODKAS: In the Russian Vodka Chamber
COLLECTION OF FLAVOURED VODKAS: in the vault
These vodka collections reflect the traditions and skills of distilleries in many countries and the innovation and diversity of modern vodka production.
History of vodka production
Alcohol has been made by man since time immemorial. The first written record of spirits dates back to the 9th century when Ragez, a doctor at a hospital in Baghdad, discovered a method of making spirits. At that time, spirits were used only for medical purposes.
Vodka production in Vihula Manor
The first reports of vodka distillation at Vihula
Manor date back to the middle of the 18th century and it became one of the main economic activities of the estate in the 19th and beginning
of the 20th century. Initially production covered only the needs of the estate itself and three taverns belonging to the estate. Later a large proportion of the vodka was sold to the state.
Russian Vodka
According to legends, the history of Russian Vodka began in 1430 in the monastery of Chudov. Monk Isidore made the first Vodka made in Russia according to a recipe he created. The use of the word Vodka in an official Russian document, in its modern sense, is first dated 8 June 1751, by a decree of Empress Elizabeth governing the ownership of vodka distillers. In 1866, by order of the Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire, a decree was passed that the standard volume percentage of Vodka would be 40%.
Smuggling of vodka
The beginning of internationalorganised crime across the Baltic
Sea region dates back to the period of Finnish prohibition (1913-
1933). The smuggling of spirits on the Baltic Sea took the form
of purchasing unlicensed spirits from G e r m a n y,
Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, and the Klaipeda and Gdansk regions. This phenomenon had its own socio-economic reasons,first and foremost the difficult
situation faced by people living on the coasts of Estonia, Finland
and other countries around the Baltic Sea, especially during the
Great Depression.
History of flavored vodkas
Flavored vodkas have only recently become fashionable, but in fact, the earliest vodkas were always flavored.When distillation got under way, during the 14th and 15th centuries, the original technology was crude, and distillers lacked the ability to purify the spirit and get all of the leftover raw materials out of it, leaving impurities and an unpleasant taste. Therefore, they often added herbs and spices to the vodka.
