Koskenkorva Viina is a liquor with 38% alcohol by volume (76 proof), produced by a Finnish company Primalco. Also known as "Kossu", it is propably the best known spirit in Finland. It consists of distilled ethnanol, pure spring water and a slight amount of sugar. The addition of sugar makes the taste less harsh when compared to unseasoned vodkas like Finlandia or Smirnoff.
When introduced in 1953 Koskenkorva was produced from potato and grain but later the process was changed to use pure Finnish barley mash. Koskenkorva was originally sold in 0,5 liter bottles but nowadays 4 cl, 20 cl, 70 cl and 1 liter bottles are available as well. Rumour has it that while visiting Finland, the former president of the US Ronald Reagan had a taste of this drink and said:"Koskenkorva is very good".
Update: The label of the Koskenkorva bottle has been altered many times in the liquor's existence, the latest modification being that the name was changed from "Koskenkorvan Viina" to "Koskenkorva Viina" (Finnish genitive form -n removed from the name) in November 2000 .