Excessive libations with a large variety of snacks often turn into a morning hangover. Dry mouth, headaches, loss of energy and other consequences can be avoided if you know how, when and with what to drink vodka.
Primordially Russian
Vodka is a strong, colorless alcoholic beverage with a pronounced odor. GOST for vodka was adopted in 1936. Until that time, any infusion (herbs, berries, roots) based on strong alcohol was called vodka. It is believed that vodka was invented by Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev. Allegedly, while working on his doctoral dissertation "On the combination of alcohol with water," he discovered that it was necessary to mix not volumetric, but weight parts of water and alcohol. He also found out that the water-alcohol solution has an unusual beneficial effect on the body only at a 43% concentration of ethanol.
It was these two facts that allowed the chemist to develop a recipe for Moskovskaya Osobennaya vodka, which was patented by the government in 1894 as Russian national vodka. In fact, in his work, Mendeleev did not write anything about the optimal strength of vodka. The scientist also did not study the biochemical properties of such solutions and their effect on the human body. The traditional fortress of 40 percent was not established at all by D. I. Mendeleev, but officials. They rounded up the 38 percent half-bar (the strength of the drink established at the beginning of the 19th century) to 40, so that it would be more convenient to calculate excise taxes. The 40% ratio of alcohol to water in vodka was fixed on December 6, 1886 in the Charter on Drinking Fees.
Initially, vodka was an addition to a hearty feast. It was not consumed as an independent drink. Hence the tradition of drinking vodka with meals, and not before or after. "White" helps the stomach break down the food that has got into it. Nowadays, vodka is mainly consumed with various dishes, and before pancakes with butter or fried pig with porridge were washed down with vodka to refresh the mouth and dull the feeling of satiety. However, few people know about this. For many decades, vodka has been a snack.
Preparing a feast
Before sitting down at the table, vodka must be cooled to 8-10 ° C. The easiest way to do this is by placing the bottle in the freezer. Cold appetizers and a main course are usually served on the table. Pickled (pickled) cucumbers, cabbage, garlic, wild garlic, mushrooms, that is, various barrel pickles, were considered excellent classic snacks for vodka in Russia. Any fatty meat with a side dish (usually porridge) was served as the main course.
Before serving, vodka was poured into a transparent chilled decanter. And at the table, the drink was poured from a decanter into small (maximum 50 grams) glasses, also preferably chilled. In Russia they said that the first glass of vodka would hit with a stake, the second would fly with a falcon, and the third would turn a person into a bird.
Rules for drinking vodka
So, vodka should be drunk chilled. Moreover, vodka is a noble drink. Drinking the whole glass in one gulp has always been considered bad taste. The vodka was savored, sipped in small sips, rolled over the mouth. In Russia, this drink was never washed down!
Vodka is a drink for joy. It liberates, relieves fatigue, relieves stress, brings people together, helps them to open up. Vodka leads to unpleasant consequences, and then to alcoholism only in the case of its excessive and uncontrolled use with or without it. Each person should know their measure of vodka. But if in Russia this measure has always been determined and determined empirically, then it is not easy for foreigners to understand when it is time to stop (hence all kinds of anecdotes and tales about hangovers among tourists).
There should be a lot of snacks for vodka, they should be varied. If the main dish can be a hodgepodge, borscht, fried pork, chicken tobacco, stewed beef, dumplings, pancakes with sour cream or caviar, then as additional appetizers (except for the already mentioned pickles), you can serve lard, jellied meat (jelly), stuffed eggplants, potatoes (in any form), herring, salted sprat, pickled apples, salted watermelons. Many decades ago, Olivier, Herring under a fur coat, and vinaigrette became traditional salads for a vodka feast.
