Hlibny Dar or Khlibnyi Dar (Хлібний Дар) is the best-selling vodka in Ukraine and the fifth largest in world sales statistics. Hlibny Dar is the main export product of the Ukrainian Bayadera Group, it is sold in more than 40 countries. Vodka is produced at the National Alcohol Company’s plant in Cherkasy Province in Ukraine. Different grains (wheat, barley and rye) have been used as raw material. After column distillation, an extract where sprouted grain has been soaked in strong alcohol has been added. The sprouted grain is said to give a slightly piquent aroma and also some sweetness. There are a total of five varieties of Hlibny Dar vodka and they are widely available in the Baltic countries. A 50 cl bottle costs about € 7.50 in Estonia

The aroma is slightly sweeter and more fruity than Hilbny Dar’s wheat vodka, which I used as a comparison. The mouthfeel is oily and quite thick, the taste is clearly sweeter than with a basic wheat vodka. The taste really has a bit of an original grainy, kind of grassy, very slightly fruity aroma. The burn of alcohol is slightly sharper than that of wheat vodka, but due to the sweetness the burn remains short. The aftertaste leaves a sweet grainy, slightly spicy aroma. Hlibny Dar Grain Sprouts is one of the few vodkas that you can sip from an aroma glass and enjoy the grainy and light fruity aroma. Such a thick mouthfeel is one that is rarely encountered in vodkas. An original product that really has something a bit different to offer and the originality of the product is not just marketing nonsense.

85/100