Vodka

If you ask any foreigner what the Russian national drink is, there can only be one answer. Although several countries bicker over the right to call themselves the homeland of vodka, there is no historical evidence of who first thought of mixing water and alcohol.

Dmitry Mendeleyev, the chemist who invented the periodic table, and who is considered one of the forefathers of the drink, noted that you can make vodka from virtually any organic substance. In his doctoral thesis “On the combination of alcohol and water,” he described in detail the “unique” and “favorable effects on a living organism” of vodka.

Although initially Mendeleyev believed that the ideal strength of the drink was 38 degrees, for ease of calculating taxes Finance Minister Sergei Witte decided that vodka should be 40 degrees. The official composition of “tsar’s vodka” was adopted in 1895, when Emperor Nicholas II introduced a state monopoly on alcohol.

At the end of the 19th century the traditional vodka recipe included alcohols derived from potatoes and rye. Later vodka started to be made from wheat, pepper and anise. Today you can choose from the more than 200 flavors on the market, from tangerine and strawberry to coffee or pineapple.

Good vodka in its pure form is characterized by a slight grain flavor and a refreshing aftertaste. Vodka’s softness is defined by the quality of the spirit alcohol used, the filtering method and the purity of water used. Many manufacturers have an additional cleaning stage using milk, silver or egg yolk to impart all the required micronutrients to the drink.

Experts suggest drinking vodka in sips to fully experience its crisp and fresh taste. However, this way was not adopted by mass culture: Vodka is usually drunk chilled in one gulp, or mixed with other drinks.

Vodka goes very well with snacks, especially caviar or light cold dishes. Traditional Russian appetizers include simple pickles like gherkins, mushrooms, sauerkraut and apples. But there are also whole separate categories of hot cooking that combine well with vodka.

Many people prefer to mix or chase vodka rather than drink it neat. The most unpretentious cocktail is probably the Screwdriver, consisting of orange juice and vodka mixed in various proportions at the bartender’s discretion. The invention of the Northern Lights cocktail of vodka and champagne is credited to the Soviet polar explorers, although pure alcohol is used in the arctic version, while the White Russian of vodka, cream and Kahlua coffee liqueur owes its popularity to the image of Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski in the Coen brothers’ black comedy.