A History of Vodka

Savored by peasants and Tsars, condemned by clerics and the architects of perestroika, vodka has been the joy and scourge of the Russian nation for centuries. But what are the origins of the Russians’ favorite drink? Did vodka emerge as an authentic national discovery from the brewing-shops of the monasteries of medieval Russia, or was the secret of its preparation imported from elsewhere? When was it that people first experienced vodka’s now famed property of “knocking drinkers off their f...