Vodka is an unquestionably popular spirit and is enjoyed worldwide. Made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits or sugar. In Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries it is usually drunk neat, but globally it is almost always mixed, often in cocktails.
The word “vodka” derives from the Slavic “voda”, meaning water, and the earliest record of the term “vodka” was in 1405, in a set of Polish court documents – placing it alongside medicines and cosmetics. The Russians too have ancient records of vodka, and a number of early pharmaceutical lists reference the “vodka of bread wine”.
