BOTTOMS UP AT POLISH MUSEUM

Polish vodka has been drunk by kings and peasants, used as a medicine and, during the Second World War, was even served to bribe the occupying Nazi German forces.

Now, a Polish Vodka Museum is being devoted solely to the 500-year history of the Polish national alcoholic beverage. Known in Polish as “wodka,” meaning “little water,” it got its name from the clear liquid that results from the distillation of cereals — rye, wheat or other grains — or potatoes.

The museum, which opened Tuesday, is an attempt to promote one of the country ’s best-known exports.

The chief of the Polish Vodka Association, Andrzej Szumowski, described vodka as an essential component of the country ’s heritage and claimed that Poles were the first to produce it — something he noted was a point of dispute with people in Russia.