One of the world's most well-known and commonly consumed distilled alcoholic beverages, the word vodka means "small water" in Russian.
The versatile alcohol has earned popularity in the cocktail market. But did you know how it originated?
The earliest recognised manufacturing of vodka in Russia started in the 9th century. However, Poland claims to have first distilled vodka in the eighth century.
The first recognised Polish vodkas were named 'gorzalka' and were initially employed as remedies in the 11th century.
Distilled liquor was mainly utilised for medicinal purposes during the Middle Ages and used to make gunpowder.
A British Ambassador to Moscow initially characterised vodka as the Russian national drink in the 14th century.
Russia developed various types of 'vodka,' or 'hot wine,' as it was known in ancient times.
However, due to the primitive early distillation methods, vodka contained contaminants, so distillers used fruit, herbs, and spices to hide them.
The presence of Russian soldiers fighting in the Napoleonic Wars in various regions of Europe aided the spread of vodka awareness throughout the 19th century.
The word vodka was only legally and formally recognised at the end of the 19th century when all state distilleries adopted a consistent production technique and thus guaranteed quality.