Vodka is enjoyed around the world thanks to its incredible versatility. Whilst typically enjoyed in the West in mixed drinks, there’s more to vodka than just a handy means of adding alcohol. You can buy distinctive, taste-packed options that are best drunk neat or with food as they do in Eastern Europe and Scandenavia. Not to mention a wealth of flavoured expressoins from Polish bison grass to fiery chilli vodkas. From the big names to tiny craft spirits, there’s a special vodka out there for everyone.
Vodka's origins are hotly disputed, though most agree that its beginnings lie in modern day Poland or Russia. Ancient records date production in Russia centuries ago, with a number of early pharmaceutical lists referencing the ‘vodka of bread wine’. The earliest recorded use of the term 'vodka' was in 1405, in a set of Polish court documents in which it was placed alongside medicines and cosmetics. The word literally means ‘little water’ so it's connected to other European terms for distilled spirits like aqua vita, eau-de-vie and uisge beatha (which all mean water of life).
Vodka was very rarely drunk outside of Europe prior to the 1950s, but thanks to its easily mixed flavour profile (and appearance), in 1975 sales in America had surpassed those of bourbon. By the 1980s it was the one of the best selling spirits in the US and Western Europe, and truly global drink with brands such as Smirnoff, originally Russian but made in America and Britain, Absolut from Sweden, and Stolichnaya, a Russian brand that is now made in Latvia as well as Au Vodka, Belvedere and Ciroc.
Though it’s usually made from grains or potatoes, vodka can be distilled from anything: honey, molasses, and even milk. Whatever it is made from, plain vodka is usually gluten-free though but beware flavoured varieties with flavours added post-distillation.
