Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka is a flavored Polish vodka liqueur, which contains a bison grass blade in every bottle. The Żubrówka brand name is also used on bottles of conventional vodka, labeled as Żubrówka Biała. An easy way to tell the difference is to look for the blade of grass in the bottle. The grass is sourced from the Białowieża Forest, hand-picked and dried under natural conditions. Żubrówka ranks as the third or fourth best-selling vodka brand in the world. Żubrówka is available in more than 80 markets worldwide. The brand is owned by CEDC International, which was acquired by Roust International in 2013.
Etymology
In Polish, the word :pl:Turówka is officially used for bison grass, while the name żubrówka has been used in folk terminology and colloquially. The similar words :be:Зуброўка|zubroŭka in the Belarusian language and :ru:Зубровка|zubrovka in Russian are also the words for bison grass. The name comes from zubr, the word for the European bison in many Slavic languages.
Before 2010, Żubrówka was illegal in the United States because the grass it is made from contained coumarin which the FDA classifies as a "substances generally prohibited from direct addition or use as human food." Since 2011, the makers of Żubrówka have made a version of the vodka from rye grain which aims to have a flavor similar to the original.
The brand
The brands Zubrovka and Żubrówka are registered by Sojuzplodoimport in Russia and Roust International in Poland.
Żubrówka figures prominently in the movie Suzhou River.
Żubrówka is featured in W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge.
The name of the country Żubrówka in the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel is named after this style of vodka.
Navy SEAL Chris Kyle mentions it in his book American Sniper while working with the Polish GROM.
Methods of Consumption
Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka is usually served chilled on its own. An alternative is mixing it with apple juice or szarlotka. It is sometimes served over vanilla ice cream, and another common mixer is ginger ale. A "Black Bison" is żubrówka mixed with black currant juice.
