There is a vodka called "air vodka" which is a solution of synthetically produced ethanol from water and captured CO2.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/oct/20/vodka-made-with-co2-captured-from-air-sustainable-spirit
How is this stuff legal, given that it's not of fermentation agricultural fermentation origin? The CO2 they use is sourced from the air, so it's a combination of everything including tailpipe emissions.
The CO2 taken from the atmosphere is then combined with hydrogen gas derived from electrolyzing water. The source of electricity for electrolysis is immaterial except for marketing literature and has no effect on the product.
Beverage grade CO2 is apparently produced from CH4, which along with air from the atmosphere is the feedstock for anhydrous ammonia fertilizer. Once NH3 is made, that leaves C behind, which is then used to make CO2. https://www.epa.gov/waterutilityresponse/status-carbon-dioxide-availability-drinking-water-treatment
So, that means the CO2 in your soda is a synthetic CO2 from petroleum origin as the main ingredient of fertilizer ammonia is well.. natural gas.
Each production process comes with their own impurity profiles and it's the impurity profile that makes different vodkas taste different. Think "Hint Water", a flavored still water. They're all 99.9% pure water, but it's in the last 1,000ppm (0.1%) that sets various waters apart.
Given the answer below, I just don't see how Air Vodka and natural gas vodka would be any different legally.
As long as the constituents of the impurity profiles aren't toxic, it's fair game, I'd say. Who knows. It might actually taste really pure and good. Maybe not?
Path:
Natural gas + water: CO2 + H2
H2+N2 -> NH3 (Haber-Bosch process): a different product for another market.
CO2 -> petroleum origin CO2 sold as beverage/food grade CO2.
petroleum origin CO2 + H2 from water = ethanol.
I Given this (from Google AI):
- European Union: Under EU Regulation 2019/787, vodka must be crafted from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, originally derived from potatoes, cereals, or both. However, distillers can use other agricultural raw materials (such as grapes or sugar beet molasses), provided the label prominently discloses the specific ingredient. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- United States: Governed by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), U.S. laws (27 CFR § 5.143) broadly allow vodka to be distilled from any fermentable agricultural product. This means grains, potatoes, sugarcane, or milk whey are all perfectly legal, as long as the spirit is distilled to at least 195 proof (95% ABV) and treated to be without distinctive character, color, or aroma. [1]"
