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Rus: Distilled Spirits - Part 1

© Dr. Donald R. Houston

Spirit of The Rus

Origins and History
Vodka's origin is Ukraine, Kyivian Rus, where the original name was and still is, horilka. It is a distilled spirit without a truly distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.unless it is aged. Horilka/vodka is the ubiquitous Eastern European alcoholic beverage. Ingredients are cereal grains or occasionally potatoes, beets, carrots, buckwheat & now in modern times sometimes rice. Arcaeological evidence shows that distilling became established in the Rus, countries today known as Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, sometime in the early 15th century and was begun as a way to dispose of a surplus of cereal grains. Ukraine has always been the main supplier of grain for Eastern Europe. Because of this and the archaeoloical evidence there is a definite basis for the argument that vodka/horilka was first produced there.

Vodka, the word, is of fairly modern vintage. Many and varied are the other terms which have historically been used for the spirit. Horilka comes from the Ukrainian verb hority, "to burn". This refers not to a burning sensation when drunk but to the fact that alcohol burns with a flame. Here we will use the term horilka for the Ukrainian beverage and vodka when referring to the generic spirit.

Here is the most accepted explanation for the name vodka. It is the distinct Russian practice to use diminutives as endearing terms. For example, friends and family of a girl with the popular name, Svetlana, might call her Sveta or Svetik, which means something like "my beloved little Svetlana". In this way, a diminutive for Voda, water would naturally be Vodka or my beloved little water.

Polish historians like to state that the first written record of vodka occurred in Poland in 1405 in Sandomierz Court Registry and thus the Polish claim to vodka. In Russian language, the first written usage of the word vodka in an official document in its modern meaning is dated by the decree of Empress Catherine I of June 8, 1751 that regulated the ownership of vodka distilleries. At the same time, in the Novgorod chronicle in records dated by 1533 the term vodka is used in the context leading to the conclusion that it meant herbal alcoholic tinctures.

Prior to the 1950's vodak was rarely drunk in the United States or Canada. It gained in popularity just after World War II with the popular drink known as the "Moscow Mule" another name for "boiler-maker." It was made by taking 2 ounces of vodka and stirring this into a mug of icy beer. Drink several of these and the name becomes resoundingly clear.

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