WHERE DID VODKA COME FROM?
The science of distillation is ancient, but we only started purifying spirits into their cleanest alcoholic form within the last couple of thousand years. The exact origin of vodka is disputed, but it’s almost certainly an Eastern European invention. This part of the world is known as the vodka belt. Some say the first vodka came from Moscow, produced by a monk called Isidore. Legend has it that he brewed and distilled a spirit for the aristocracy called ‘bread wine’.
Others argue it was first distilled in Poland for treating wounds. These early vodkas were nowhere near as concentrated as today. As distillation equipment has improved, so has the purity and strength of alcohol people can produce.