In a book of travels published in English in 1780 (presumably, a translation from German), Johann Gottlieb Georgi correctly explained that "kabak in the Russian language signifies a public house for the common people to drink vodka (a sort of brandy) in".

[11] In 1799, William Tooke glossed vodka as "rectified corn-spirits",[12] using the traditional English sense of the word "corn" to refer to any grain, not just maize.

People in the area of vodka's probable origin have names for vodka with roots meaning "to burn": Polish: gorzała; Ukrainian: горілка, romanized: horilka; Belarusian: гарэлка, romanized: harelka; Lithuanian: degtinė; Samogitian: degtėnė is also in use, colloquially and in proverbs;[14] Latvian: degvīns; Finnish: paloviina.

Others languages include the German Branntwein, Danish brændevin, Dutch: brandewijn, Swedish: brännvin, and Norwegian: brennevin (although the latter terms refer to any strong alcoholic beverage).

[18] The world's first written mention of the word wódka was in 1405 from Akta Grodzkie recorder of deeds,[19] in the court documents from the Palatinate of Sandomierz in Poland.

The production of liquor begins in the mid-15th century, with varied local traditions emerging throughout Europe, in Poland as vodka (Polish: wódka or gorzałka).

Jakub Kazimierz Haur, in his book Skład albo skarbiec znakomitych sekretów ekonomii ziemiańskiej (A Treasury of Excellent Secrets about Landed Gentry's Economy, Kraków, 1693), gave detailed recipes for making vodka from rye.

One of the most famous distilleries of the aristocracy was established by Elżbieta Izabela Lubomirska and later operated by her grandson, Alfred Wojciech Potocki.

The Vodka Industry Museum, located at the park of the Potocki country estate has an original document attesting that the distillery already existed in 1784.

[20] Vodka production on a much larger scale began in Poland at the end of the 16th century, initially at Kraków, whence spirits were exported to Silesia before 1550.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Polish vodka was known in the Netherlands, Denmark, England, Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria and the Black Sea basin.

He was soon followed by Jakub Haberfeld, who in 1804 established a factory at Oświęcim, and by Hartwig Kantorowicz, who started producing Wyborowa in 1823 at Poznań.

In 1386, the Genoese ambassadors brought the first aqua vitae ("water of life") to Moscow and presented it to Dmitry Donskoy, the grand prince.

[22][23][24] According to William Pokhlyobkin, in around 1430, a monk named Isidore from the Chudov Monastery inside the Moscow Kremlin made a recipe of the first Russian vodka.

[24] Giles Fletcher, who was the English ambassador in Russia, wrote: In every great towne of his Realme he hath a Caback or drinking house, where is sold aquavitæ (which they call Russewine) mead, beere, &c. Out of these hee receiveth rent that amounteth to a great summe of money.Until the mid-18th century, the drink remained relatively low in alcohol content, not exceeding 40% ABV.

At the same time, the word vodka was already in use, but it described herbal tinctures (similar to Nalewka), containing up to 75% ABV, and made for medicinal purposes.

The taxes on vodka became a key element of government finances in Tsarist Russia, providing at times up to 40% of state revenue.

Seizing control of the state spirits monopoly Rosspirtprom and its Kristall distillery was instrumental for Vladimir Putin to consolidate his power as prime minister and president.

Pokhlebkin is also known for his Pan-Slavic sympathies under the leadership of Russia and sentiments that, in David Christian's opinion, discredit most of his work, especially his History of Vodka.

After Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, the regulations were changed so that privately owned companies could produce Vodka.

Some vodkas are made from potatoes, molasses, soybeans, grapes, rice, sugar beets and sometimes even byproducts of oil refining[38] or wood pulp processing.

[42] Bottlers purchase the base spirits in bulk, then filter, dilute, distribute and market the end product under a variety of vodka brand names.

In contrast, the distillery process for liquors such as whiskey, rum, and baijiu allow portions of the "heads" and "tails" to remain, giving them their unique flavors.

Repeated distillation of vodka will make its ethanol level much higher than is acceptable to most end users, whether legislation determines strength limits or not.

In Poland and Belarus, the leaves of the local bison grass are added to produce żubrówka (Polish) and zubrovka (Belarusian) vodka, with slightly sweet flavors and light amber colors.

"[51] The law includes other requirements: Vodka cannot be aged in wood; it may or may not be charcoal filtered; and it must meet minimum distillation and bottling proofs.

[52] In summer 2013, American LGBT rights activists targeted Russian vodka brands for boycott over Russia's anti-gay policies.

However, severe poisoning, blindness, or death can occur as a result of dangerous industrial ethanol substitutes being added by black-market producers.

[59] In March 2007 in a documentary, BBC News UK sought to find the cause of severe jaundice among imbibers of a "bathtub" vodka in Russia.

[citation needed] Estimates of the annual death toll resulting from vodka consumption extend up to the thousands in Russia.