Koskenkorva Viina

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A pre-2008 Koskenkorva bottle (50cl)

Koskenkorva Viina (also known simply as Koskenkorva, or Kossu) is the most common clear spirit drink (38%) in Finland, produced by Altia in the Koskenkorva distillery in Ilmajoki. ^[1]

The grain (barley) alcohol is produced using 200-step continuous distillation designed to produce high-purity industrial ethanol. The drink is produced by diluting this alcohol with spring water and a very small amount of sugar. Although commonly called a "vodka" in English, in Finland it is not called a "vodka", but viina (from brännvin), "hard liquor".

Besides the standard 38% near-unflavored there are several variants of Koskenkorva on the market, most notably the famous Salmiakki Koskenkorva, better known as Salmiakkikossu or Salmari, which is salmiakki-flavored. Another variant is the same Koskenkorva with rye instead of barley, marketed under the same concept as Koskenkorva Viina Ruis. There also exists a vanilla variant called Vanilja Koskenkorva. The Koskenkorva Vodka is the same drink, but with 40% or 60% alcohol instead of the traditional 38%, as this brand is intended for foreign markets. Finlandia Vodka, a vodka classified as "imported premium", is the same as Koskenkorva 40%, except that sugar is not added. Altia sold this brand, intended for foreign markets, to the American Brown-Forman Corporation, but remains the sole producer of Finlandia Vodka at least until 2017.

A new design for the Koskenkorva Viina bottle was introduced in 2008. It has a white label, with KOSKENKORVA in black and VIINA below in grey, and a drawing of a scenery of fields with barns on them in light brown. The product number 013 is prominently displayed. Salmiakki Koskenkorva has a completely different black label.

Kossu is at its best when cold, but can be also mixed for example with Coke (which is then called "Kossukola"), with Vichy water ("Kossuvissy"), orange juice ("screwdriver"), energy drink ("Kossu Battery") or certain (hard) salmiakki candies (Salmiakkikoskenkorva, Salmiakkikossu, Salmari). The last is often made by mixing ground Turkinpippuri with kossu, though other candies of similar type are also a possibility and there also exists a ready salmiakki mixer for this particular purpose [1]. Another way of enjoying kossu, which has gained popularity recently, is mixing ground Fisherman's Friends to the drink.

The Altia Corporation is owned by the Finnish government. As an independent corporation, Altia would be free to relocate the distillery, if it were sold to a private investor. When the government considered selling the corporation, a popular movement grew to oppose this. The Koskenkorva distillery is the largest buyer for the barley farmers in the area. Without the distillery, cultivation of barley in the region would probably cease.

Furthermore, Finnish people recognize Koskenkorva as one of the symbols of Finnishness. It would be unlikely that "foreign Koskenkorva" would be accepted by the Finnish home market. Ironically, many other vodka brands brandishing symbols of Finnishness, such as Leijona with the Lion of Finland or Suomi-Viina, are partially produced from Estonian or other foreign raw materials. Koskenkorva Viina, and its unsugared counterpart Finlandia Vodka are one of the few actually Finnish vodkas on the market.

[edit] Trivia

Koskenkorva is a small village - that belongs to municipality of Ilmajoki - in Finland that translates as "(area) by the rapids". The folk etymology "rapid's ear" is based on the fact that korva also means "ear".
The original name of the drink was Koskenkorvan viina — notice the genetive 'n' — "liquor of Koskenkorva". The name was changed recently into Koskenkorva viina "Koskenkorva liquor". Furthermore, even older labels had the original name in the partitive as KOSKENKORVAN VIINAA "(some) liquor of Koskenkorva".
Irwin Goodman's song repertoire included "Koskenkorvassa" ("In Koskenkorva"), where nearly every line is a double entendre interpretable as either a praise to either living in Koskenkorva village or being drunk of Koskenkorva Viina.
In the song The Land Of Ice And Snow, Timo Tolkki, guitarist and songwriter of the Finnish heavy-metal band Stratovarius, describes Finland as the land "where Koskenkorva flows".