1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Hey, listeners, You're going to get the same information again 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: if you listen regularly, But just in case, you want 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: to make sure everybody knows that we have a little 4 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: fun excursion plan to go to Paris. So we are 5 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: both incredibly excited about going to Paris. I've been doing 6 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,119 Speaker 1: my duo lingo every day. I know, we all know that. 7 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: How in spite of my formal French study, I'm really 8 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 1: bad at it. So every morning I'm brushing up to 9 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: get ready for this trip. I am too, because mine 10 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,480 Speaker 1: is pretty sloppy. My vocabulary is okay, but my grammar 11 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: is pretty train ricky. So the good news is, even 12 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: if you don't speak a word of French, you're covered. 13 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: The way this whole thing is set up, you do 14 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: not have to be able to speak French in order 15 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: to enjoy the trip. Now we will have local guides 16 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: who will be helping us navigate the language, navigate the city, 17 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: all of that. It is in June of this year, 18 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: which is twenty nineteen. If you come to our website, 19 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: which is missed in history dot com, there is a 20 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,279 Speaker 1: link up at the top of the menu, or if 21 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: you're on a mobile device, if you click the little 22 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: menu button. It'll drop down it says Paris trip exclamation point, 23 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: and it'll have all the information how to sign up, 24 00:00:58,280 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: how to get in touch with the people who are 25 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: run this whole thing. If you have questions, we hope 26 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: we see you there because you can join us, and 27 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: we'd love for you to Welcome to stuff you missed 28 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: in history class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, 29 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frying and I'm 30 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: Tracy V. Wilson. I'm excited and self serving because today 31 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about my spirit of choice, vodka. 32 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:31,479 Speaker 1: As soon as you told me what you were researching, 33 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: I thought this is gonna be Holly's favorite episode ever. Um, 34 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: sort of. I mean, we get into some of the 35 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: bleak stuff that comes with vodka, so it's not all 36 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: fun in games. I certainly enjoy a cocktail, but obviously 37 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: we are not advocating over imbibing drink responsibly. We just 38 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,400 Speaker 1: want to talk about the history of this drink um 39 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: and the story of vodka is one that is really 40 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: closely tied to cultural identity for several countries. But we're 41 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: gonna examine where it originated and how it evolved over 42 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: time and how those identities sort of formed. I bet 43 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: when I say vodka and country, people automatically make a connection, 44 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about why that's the case. Uh, We're 45 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: going to talk a little bit also about how vodka 46 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: is made, and then we'll get into that part about 47 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: where it came from and how it has expanded to 48 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: become really a global market, focusing on those countries where 49 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: it remains and has become most popular. And then we 50 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: have to talk about some of the problematic aspects of 51 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: vodka's place in the world. But I promise we'll end 52 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: in a fairly fun place. Yeah, vodka is a little 53 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: unusual and that it can be made from a lot 54 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: of different things while still being considered vodka, which isn't 55 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: so much the case with a number of other spirits. 56 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: There are, of course, a lot of opinions and disagreements 57 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: about just how far afield you can go and selecting 58 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: the base ingredient while still calling the resulting spirit vodka. Yeah, 59 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: this starts some heated debates I discovered in my research. Uh, 60 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: it requires a sugar or starch element to begin with, 61 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: so most popular in Russia and Poland as well as 62 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: other countries kind of in that northern belt are grains, 63 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: potatoes or sugar beat molasses as the starting ingredient. Uh. 64 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: There is actually an area that's colloquially called the vodka belt, 65 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: which stretches from Sweden to Poland, and that produces the 66 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: majority of the vodka that is consumed in the European Union. 67 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: In other places, though, there's a greater variability, including using 68 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: things like corn and fruit, and whether those things should 69 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: be considered vodka was the matter of debate for some time. 70 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: European Parliament ruled on the matter in two thousand seven, 71 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: giving a wider range of options for distillers, all following 72 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: under this vodka umbrella, defining vodka as a spirit drink 73 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: produced from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin. Yeah, you can, 74 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: even if you're feeling very very ambitious and uh want 75 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: to do some some juggling and babysitting, You could even 76 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: start a vodka from just sugar, although it's not really 77 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: the recommended for general making, is my understanding. I have 78 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: never distilled vodka myself, so I'm going by what I 79 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: have read. Uh. That ruling that we just talked about 80 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: was unsurprisingly not entirely popular for vodka purists, it really 81 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: signaled a degradation to the spirit, and the Finnish politician 82 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: Alexander Stubb made the case that vodka should be more 83 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: specifically defined. He said at that time, quote, we have 84 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: made vodka out of potato and grain for over five 85 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: hundred years. When we became EU members in we were 86 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: told that vodka would have a tight definition, just like rum, 87 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:39,480 Speaker 1: just like whiskey, just like grappa. We don't want vodka 88 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,239 Speaker 1: to be some kind of alcoholic waste basket. I really 89 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: like the idea that like it sounds almost like they're 90 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: they're becoming. Part of the EU was in some ways 91 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: contingent on the definition of vodka. Yes, that was definitely 92 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: part of what they were they were agreeing to is 93 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:03,919 Speaker 1: that voda I would have this this rigorous, fairly rigorous 94 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 1: standard applied to it. And that didn't really pan out. Now. 95 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: The reason that the rules of what could be used 96 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: to produce vodka were relaxed was that vodka was already 97 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: being made from a variety of ingredients of distilleries all 98 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: over Europe, and excluding the producers that used alternates to 99 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: grain and potatoes could have led to a trade war 100 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 1: countries outside of the EU were making vodka out of 101 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: all kinds of things, and so had the ruling had 102 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: taken a more strict stance, that would have opened a 103 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: huge can of worms in terms of the global spirits market. Yeah. 104 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: So if you would imagine trying to put this in 105 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: sort of real terms instead of just theoreticals, if you 106 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: went into your local liquor store today to buy vodka 107 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: and you see all of the offerings, and then something 108 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: like this had happened and some people in the world said, no, no, 109 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,280 Speaker 1: that thing you've been buying is vodka for X number 110 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: of years is no longer vodka. Like, it would just 111 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: be a little bit of chaos, uh, into of how 112 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: manufacturers labeled things. I imagine there would be pushedback because 113 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: people wouldn't want to change the identities of the products 114 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: they had been making for a long time. It really 115 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: just would have been an absolute chaotic miss uh. Incidentally, 116 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 1: in the US, vodka is legally defined in ultra broad 117 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: terms as quote neutral spirits so distilled or so treated 118 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be 119 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color. That is pretty. 120 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 1: It's so so broad and nebulous yet regardless of whether 121 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 1: the primary ingredient is an old school traditional take or 122 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,599 Speaker 1: one that falls under the wider rules. After the fermenting 123 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: ingredient is selected, it goes through fermentation. The base material 124 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: is crushed, blended with water, and heated, which turns the 125 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: start into sugar. That result is combined with yeast, and 126 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: then the fluid is distilled from the combined mixture. So alcohol, 127 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: of course boils more quickly than water, so the alcohol 128 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,279 Speaker 1: component in that mixture vaporizes more quickly than the water 129 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: in the mix, and that vapor is captured, excluding the 130 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: very first and last vapors of the batch. And next 131 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: that vapor is then condensed into a very potent alcohol, 132 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: and then that alcohol is combined again with water to 133 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: produce the final product, vodka. That's the very basic process. 134 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: If you've completed those steps, you have what could technically 135 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 1: be called vodka, but it can be and usually is 136 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: further refined and process to alter the taste and the purity. 137 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: Filtering it through charcoal, lava, linen, or a number of 138 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: other substances, or performing multiple distillations will make the spirit 139 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: cleaner and purer and also remove virtually all of the taste. Yeah, 140 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: if you go on a an online splunking expedition to 141 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: see what people have used to filter vodka, you will 142 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: find everything from like diamond dust to two pieces of cloth. 143 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: And for something that becomes part of their brand identity 144 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: or if they're doing like small batch artisanal stuff, it's 145 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: part of their thing that they're they're creating new ways 146 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: to do it. And of course, uh, flavored vodka is 147 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: very popular and the flavor has to be added after 148 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: all of these other steps. This is often done at 149 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: the production level, but there are also plenty of consumers 150 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: who like to add their own flavor infusions to plain 151 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: vodka for custom flavor. So I'm sure if you have 152 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: friends who drink, you know somebody who has been Like, 153 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: I infused my vodka with jolly ranchers, or with apples, 154 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: or with any number of other I've had friends who 155 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: have done it with jelly beans. The result was delicious. Uh, 156 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:45,719 Speaker 1: it just depends on what you like. There are consumers 157 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: and connoisseurs who desire a vodka that still tastes at 158 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,199 Speaker 1: least a little bit like its original ingredients, rather than 159 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: having a post distillation added flavor. Some artisanal vodka producers 160 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: use small copper moonshine stills and that of the stills 161 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: that are used in larger production setups because the resulting 162 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: spirit retains some of those component tastes. Yeah, if you 163 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:09,959 Speaker 1: want your vodka to taste like a little like the 164 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: wheat or the potato or whatever was used initially, then 165 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 1: that is probably a better way to achieve it. Quality 166 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: standards for vodka are actually a really tricky topic because 167 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:27,200 Speaker 1: there aren't any that are universally recognized. Uh. Some countries, 168 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: such as Poland, defined quality by purity. There are other 169 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: municipalities that categorize simply by alcohol content, like what percentage 170 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: of the resulting spirit is alcohol? Uh. There's also marketing 171 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 1: in the mix playing apart, with some distillers touting the 172 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: purity of the water that they use as the ultimate 173 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: determinant of quality. We're about to dive in so where 174 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: all of this vodka production started, or at least where 175 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: people think it started. But first we will take a 176 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: break to hear from one of the sponsors that keeps 177 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 1: the show going. While the identity of vodka today is 178 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,319 Speaker 1: one of an intoxicant, initially, it's believed that it was 179 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: developed for medicinal use, but it's exact point of origin 180 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: is lost to time and is consequently argued by various 181 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: countries wishing to claim ownership of the world's most popular spirit. 182 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: Russia and Poland remain locked in their ongoing argument over 183 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: the matter, both using language is evidence. So the Russian 184 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: word for water is vota with a V. The Polish 185 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: word for water is vota with a W. It's a 186 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: very subtle difference. I'm probably not enunciating it in a 187 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: way that makes that that difference apparent to native speakers, 188 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: but they do sound very similar, uh, particularly to Western ears. 189 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: And proponents of the Polish origins of vodka say that 190 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: the word vodka with a W spelled the W instead 191 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: of a V, appeared in print before vodka with a V, 192 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,839 Speaker 1: and thus it must be Polish in origin. There are 193 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: some additional elements in this whole Russia versus Poland debate 194 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,199 Speaker 1: on where vodka came from. A Polish drink called gor 195 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,200 Speaker 1: zolka has existed since the eleventh century, and there have 196 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 1: been some assertions that that's the original proto vodka, but 197 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: the counter argument is that the historic drink of gorge 198 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: yolka is a more general undefined alcoholic spirit and not 199 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 1: really anything that can be definitively linked to vodka. Ukraine 200 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: also has a claim to vodka's birthplace because that area 201 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: produced the most grains in the region in the fifteenth century, 202 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: so it would make sense that grain based alcohol originated there. 203 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:42,800 Speaker 1: And there is even the possibility, truly that vodka actually 204 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 1: first entered the region from somewhere else, and that locals 205 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: then figured out how to make their own. We know 206 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,439 Speaker 1: that vodka as we know it originated somewhere in eastern Europe, 207 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,079 Speaker 1: but whether that's in modern Ukraine, Russia, Poland, or Belarus, 208 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: we don't really know. The whole region is inhospitable to 209 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 1: rapes as a crop, so inventive folks came up with 210 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: new ways to make alcohol. The prevailing theory is that 211 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,559 Speaker 1: we have monks to thank for it. This is true 212 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 1: with the number of other alcohols. They needed a spirit 213 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 1: to use as a sedative and disinfectant in the communities 214 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 1: where they worked, and they turned to wheat to get it. Yeah, 215 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: so that's why it kind of has those origins as 216 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: a medicinal. In the fourteen hundreds, vodka production became more 217 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: refined and it also branched out to use other grains. 218 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:32,959 Speaker 1: Early vodkas were most likely quite sharp, having a very 219 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,599 Speaker 1: unpleasant flavor. They weren't doing all of that refining and 220 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: filtering that we would do today, so flavoring started to 221 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 1: be added in order to help make it more palatable. Fruit, honey, 222 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: and spices came into the picture. But in making vodka 223 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: more tasty, distillers helped to shift it away from simply 224 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:55,839 Speaker 1: medicinal use to recreational because then it started to be yummy, 225 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: and that shift in identity to a beverage from a 226 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: medicine lead to more ernamentation and innovation. Vodka stayed largely 227 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: in Northern Europe for a while, but eventually it began 228 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: to spread. Like other products we've talked about as shipping 229 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: and industry group, vodka was able to travel farther and 230 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: farther away from its point of origin. But even so 231 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:17,920 Speaker 1: there was still a lot of cool stuff going on 232 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,360 Speaker 1: in that sort of cradle where it first came about. 233 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 1: In Poland, in particular, herbal vodkas were developed to treat 234 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,960 Speaker 1: all manner of ailments and concerns in the sixteenth century, 235 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: and it was also in Poland the potatoes were first 236 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:34,119 Speaker 1: used in fermentation to create vodka, and Polish distillers continued 237 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: to drive the exploration of flavorings and tweaks to distilling 238 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: methods well into the nineteenth century. But vodka is often 239 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,559 Speaker 1: linked with Russia and Russian cultural identity, and that's due 240 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:48,079 Speaker 1: in part how quickly I'm In the Third of Russia, 241 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 1: also known as I'm In the Great, established vodka as 242 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,440 Speaker 1: a key revenue source in the country. In fourteen seventy four, 243 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 1: he started taxing vodka and set up a government based 244 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: monopoly on the beverage, and that set the stage for 245 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: his successor, I'm In the Fourth, known as I'm In 246 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 1: the Terrible, to continue manipulating the flow of vodka to 247 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: suit his own desires. Ivan the Fourth went so far 248 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: as to exclude most of his people from having access 249 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: to vodka. He set up a new social class of 250 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: loyal favorites, and only they could have vodka, and in 251 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: this move he redistributed land to them and also turned 252 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: his back on the nobility that had existed before this restructure. 253 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: He also used vodka to keep people loyal to him, 254 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,359 Speaker 1: because cross the czar and you would lose your drinking privileges. 255 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 1: Other Russian leaders similarly used vodka as a means to 256 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: reward their favorites and to intoxicate guests so that they 257 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: would tell state secrets, and in the case of Peter 258 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: the Great, force enemies to drink until they collapsed. But 259 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,760 Speaker 1: it was Catherine the Second, also known as Katherine the Great, 260 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: who instituted changes that once again put vodka in the 261 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: glasses in the cups of common people. Under her rule, 262 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: the vodka monopoly ended and more distillers were licensed to 263 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: produce the spirit. The cau of vodka were also regulated 264 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: to keep prices reasonable, but this often led to the 265 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: dilution of the product on a part of the producers. Yeah, 266 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: if the costs were going to be capped at a 267 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: pretty low amount, they were like, well, we're going to 268 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: stretch our product then. Uh. This also led to vodka 269 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: quality being seen as a shorthand way to identify one status. 270 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 1: So even though they had taken away the the access 271 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: through the hierarchy, it's sort of built itself again in 272 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: a new way. The wealthiest households began distilling their own 273 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: vodkas with an array of expensive flavorings and spices, and 274 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: this was to maintain their distance from peasants in the 275 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: eyes of guests. Even the potency of the perfect vodka 276 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: was scientifically measured by the Russian scientist Dmitri Mentally, if 277 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: you believe that myth that name sounds familiar, it's because 278 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 1: his published work Tentative System of Elements as the foundation 279 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: of the periodic Table of the Elements. But before that, 280 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: his dissertation A Discourse on the Combination of Alcohol and 281 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: Water is said to have established thirty eight percent alcohol 282 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: by volume as the best proportion for vodka. In fact, 283 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: he was working with theoreticals and alcohols and much higher 284 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: concentrations than that. None of it had anything to do 285 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: with setting a gold standard for vodka. His connection to 286 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: vodka has been mythologized a lot over the years. It's 287 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: easy to find assertions that he invented vodka. Obviously he 288 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: did not do that, or that he served on the 289 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: state's regulatory commission and was tasked with implementing rules for 290 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: the perfect vodka. He did serve on a government weights 291 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: and measures agency, but he wasn't given any kind of 292 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: mandate to codify vodka production. Just the same, his story 293 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: used in various advertisements and spread throughout the Internet has 294 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: added to this perception that Russia is the epicenter of 295 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: all things vodka. Yeah. The trick there is that at 296 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: least I could not find an English translation of that 297 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 1: dissertation that he wrote, so it's very easy for people 298 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 1: to claim what is in it. Yet, so it really 299 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 1: really does spread like wildfire. I'd read that dissertation, though, 300 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 1: I would do. Uh. In the eighteen sixties, Pyotr A. 301 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: Smyrnov founded a vodka company in Moscow which became the 302 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: favored source of the spirit for the country's royals, and 303 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,199 Speaker 1: it is now one of the most common brands in 304 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 1: the world, and it continues that link between Russia and 305 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,959 Speaker 1: vodka in the minds of consumers everywhere. Under the Bolsheviks 306 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: in the nineteens, alcohol was outlawed. When the Soviet Union 307 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,960 Speaker 1: was established in Nino, mild alcoholic drinks were once again 308 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: allowed to be sold, and in vodka was again legalized 309 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 1: at normal proof. When Joseph Stalin gained power in the 310 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,879 Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, he had state run distilleries increased production to 311 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,359 Speaker 1: generate revenue, even though he knew there was a real 312 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: problem with alcoholism in the country. Yeah, we're going to 313 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,679 Speaker 1: talk about that again in just a little while. But 314 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: though some temperance efforts started after Stalin died, drinking remained 315 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: a problem, and it wasn't until the nineteen eighties under 316 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: Gorbachev that temperance efforts got a real boost and the 317 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:06,640 Speaker 1: government made a concerted effort to get the entire country 318 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: on board. And while the programs that were initiated during 319 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,120 Speaker 1: this time did curtail drinking to some degree and improve 320 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: overall health statistics of the population, eventually public sentiment turned 321 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,199 Speaker 1: against it. Next up, we're going to talk about how 322 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 1: vodka became one of the most popular liquors in the 323 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: United States, But first we will have a quick sponsor break. 324 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 1: Uh surprise, the US is the world's second greatest consumer 325 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: of vodka after Russia. That may or may not surprise you. 326 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 1: I found it a little surprising. Vodka didn't really get 327 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 1: a serious place in drinking state side though until after prohibition. 328 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 1: Prior to that, there was just a smattering of mediocre 329 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,800 Speaker 1: vodka options available, and it really didn't catch on in 330 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: any sort of significant way. In the nineteen thirties, the 331 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 1: Russian immigrant named Rudolph Kunnitt, who had purchased the rights 332 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: to use the smeared off name started selling better vodka 333 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,680 Speaker 1: in the United States than had been available previously. His 334 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 1: Connecticut distillery struggled until the end of that decade when 335 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:15,680 Speaker 1: it was purchased on behalf of Hubland's Liquor Company by 336 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: John G. Martin. Hublands was absorbed by a larger company, 337 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: but Martin had wisely made sure that he retained the 338 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 1: rights to the smeared off name. Yeah, he had been 339 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: an executive with Hublands and uh he had had written 340 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: that in smartly where he got some rights for distribution. 341 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: But Martin didn't figure out a way to capitalize on 342 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,880 Speaker 1: his rights to the smearing off name until when he 343 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:40,399 Speaker 1: and his friend and tavern owner came up with the 344 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: combination of ginger beer and vodka with lemon or lime 345 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 1: juice in a copper mug. Uh. This has its own 346 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 1: mythology around it. Where it happened in l A, which 347 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: is where his friend's tavern was, versus it happened in 348 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: New York and it only took off in l A. 349 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: And that one of them had too much ginger beer 350 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:00,919 Speaker 1: and one of them had too much vodka, and it 351 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: was almost a Reese's cup situation, and we don't really know, 352 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: but he they he is completely recognized he and his 353 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,959 Speaker 1: friend as originating the Moscow mule uh. And once that 354 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 1: drink was born, it finally made drinkers in the United 355 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: States embrace vodka, at least until World War Two. After 356 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: the war, for a while, vodka became sort of spirit 357 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 1: non grata in the US as the Cold War began 358 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: and all things associated with the Soviet Union reviewed through 359 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:33,159 Speaker 1: that lens. It didn't go away completely and Martin was 360 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,439 Speaker 1: still concocting other cocktails with vodka, but it really it 361 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: kind of had a big spike in in popularity and 362 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: then a big drop off. Vodka's reputation perked up once 363 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: Sean Connery ordered a vodka martini and dr No in 364 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty two, but then it really got a boost 365 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,959 Speaker 1: when President Richard Nixon, after visiting the Soviet Union, approved 366 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:57,679 Speaker 1: business between Pepsicola and the USSR and exchanged for assistance 367 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: and setting up a pepsi factory in the Soviet Union. 368 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,960 Speaker 1: The US business was paid in stolech Nia vodka, which 369 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: made the soda giant the stolen distributor in the US. 370 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: With the backing of a massive Kola brand, vodka became 371 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 1: the most popular spirit in the US in nine Vodka 372 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 1: remains one of the most popular liquors in the United 373 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: States and smeared off as the most popular brand. Yeah. 374 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,119 Speaker 1: If you look at like year to year top ten 375 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: uh spirits in the US, vodka is almost always in 376 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: the top two and usually it is um smearnoff. It 377 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:40,159 Speaker 1: shifts a little bit, but I think whiskey kind of 378 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:42,240 Speaker 1: stays at the top, or has for the last several 379 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: years anyway. Um, but that's all fun and games. But 380 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 1: we have to acknowledge that vodka has a pretty dark 381 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: side to its history as well. There have certainly been 382 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,919 Speaker 1: plenty of issues that stemmed from over indulgence in and 383 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: addiction to alcohol in the world's ongoing story. For example, 384 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: in the late night eighteenth century, Russia was in the 385 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: middle of a real crisis of alcoholism. It was so 386 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: bad that it threatened the labor pool and caused outcry 387 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: from activist groups and churches and medical professionals. Eventually, Zar 388 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,679 Speaker 1: Alexander the Third couldn't ignore the problem any longer and 389 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 1: limited the production of vodka, put regulations in place to 390 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: mandate quality and formed a Temperance Society that touted the 391 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: idea of drinking in moderation, despite the fact that the 392 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 1: name of the society, which was the Guardianship of Public Sobriety, 393 00:22:30,119 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: might suggest that it would be against the drink altogether. 394 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: To be clear, though Alexander the Third himself was a drinker, Yeah, 395 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:40,760 Speaker 1: he was definitely responding to outside pressures. He was not like, hey, 396 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: we should cut back on drinking in the country because 397 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: he loved to drink. The state also started a program 398 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:51,120 Speaker 1: to boost non alcoholic entertainments as a means to curtail drinking. 399 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: Free theater and concerts, as well as adult education offerings 400 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,639 Speaker 1: and other leisure incentives were offered, but none of this 401 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,879 Speaker 1: really worked at all. Regulations did not stop illicit liquor 402 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 1: sales and the production of inferior product, and this problem 403 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,639 Speaker 1: with alcoholism persisted into the Russo Japanese War and actually 404 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: caused Russia battles, backing them into a corner and putting 405 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 1: them in a really weak position for brokering a treaty. Additionally, 406 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 1: the Czar's decision to ban alcohol in an effort to 407 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 1: help the troops stay on task for that conflict meant 408 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 1: that a huge source of tax revenue was lost in 409 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 1: the process, and all of that was before the twentieth 410 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:31,880 Speaker 1: century efforts to sober up the country that we mentioned 411 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: earlier in a study titled Alcohol and Mortality was conducted 412 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: at the University of Toronto, and it featured some really 413 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,680 Speaker 1: grim data. The authors of the paper, Jurgen rem and 414 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,160 Speaker 1: Kevin D. Shield, outline the fact that more than two 415 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: hundred different diseases are linked to alcohol, but their research 416 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: focuses on cancer, liver, cirrhosis, and injury, and their research 417 00:23:55,040 --> 00:24:00,200 Speaker 1: indicated that in four of all deaths globally from those 418 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: diseases were attributable to alcohol consumption that same year, alcohol 419 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: consumption resulted in an average percentage of years lost of 420 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,880 Speaker 1: four point three. Those numbers increased as compared to similar 421 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: data from This is not in your outline, but I 422 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,679 Speaker 1: was reading a thing recently that was a hypothesis that 423 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 1: one of the reasons that breast cancer rates are lower 424 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: in Utah is because of Utah's more stringent alcohol laws. 425 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: I cannot speak to that because I have not read it. Yeah, 426 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: I mean, it's one of those things, right, we definitely 427 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: have to kind of acknowledge that, uh, consuming alcohol comes 428 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: with inherent danger. There was a recent study I didn't 429 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 1: put it in my notes either, so I'm quoting it 430 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: kind of out of the air that basically I think 431 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,919 Speaker 1: it was from or twenty seventeen that was, like, really, 432 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,480 Speaker 1: the safest way to consume alcohol is to not consume alcohol, 433 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: because even though there are and it's outlined in the 434 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 1: RAM paper, there are some specific health issues that alcohol 435 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 1: and moderation can actually help, but for the most part, 436 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:10,400 Speaker 1: like the dangers are far worse than any of them. 437 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: So just things to consider. We're not telling people to 438 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,120 Speaker 1: go out and drink a ton of vodka. Um, let's 439 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:19,320 Speaker 1: all be grown ups. Uh we and we don't want 440 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,800 Speaker 1: to minimize also or downplay the issue of over indulgence 441 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: or addiction. Uh. But that would be a really downer 442 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: place to end this episode. So instead, I thought it 443 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: might be fun to close with a few anecdotes and 444 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,399 Speaker 1: facts about vodka that are just sort of fascinating on 445 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: their own. We mentioned earlier that vodka was probably originally 446 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 1: concocted for medicinal use, but there are still plenty of 447 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: sort of old wives remedies that make use of it. 448 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: Alcohol infused with St. John's work and sage is believed 449 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: to have had curative powers as a liniment. Vodka served 450 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 1: with black pepper is an old Russian cold remedy, and 451 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: vodka fumes from infused fabrics are believed by some to 452 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: cure everything from muscle aches to ear problems. It's also 453 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: used as an astringent cleanser to clean out pours and 454 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: as a disinfectant for wounds. It can be used for 455 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:12,640 Speaker 1: cleaning surfaces as well as humans, as a polished for mirrors, 456 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,120 Speaker 1: chrome tile and the like. Yeah, it definitely will kill 457 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: all your stuff. My favorite use for vodka which I 458 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:22,880 Speaker 1: didn't put in here, but it is. Here's the trick 459 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: I give to you that I learned from working in 460 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: costume shops forever. If you get cheap, cheap vodka and 461 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:31,239 Speaker 1: you put it in a spritzer bottle, Uh, if you 462 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: can't make it to a dry cleaner, that will freshen 463 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,919 Speaker 1: up your clothes, kill any bacteria that are causing odor, 464 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,160 Speaker 1: and help you get through to your next thing. Yeah, 465 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,440 Speaker 1: this is why I have in my bathroom under the 466 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 1: sink there are two spray bottles, both clearly marked so 467 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:49,640 Speaker 1: I don't confuse them. One contains peroxide, the other contains vodka. Yeah. 468 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: I at one point I was helping out as like 469 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:57,119 Speaker 1: a really low level mouse in a costume shop that 470 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,360 Speaker 1: was serving a ballet company, and they're Uh. Their costume 471 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 1: director was always walking around with the bottle of vodka 472 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: and spritsing things to make sure that they did not 473 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:08,920 Speaker 1: smell bad, especially if you were doing like a matinee 474 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:10,879 Speaker 1: performance in an evening, and there was no way to 475 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: really do serious cleaning between the two in terms of time, 476 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:16,520 Speaker 1: especially when you're trying to prep things for a full 477 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 1: quarter ballet. Uh. A little vodka spirits will help perk 478 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: things up and make it not smell bad. Uh. There's 479 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,880 Speaker 1: also another little household hind which is that adding vodka 480 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 1: and sugar to water at the base of Christmas trees 481 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: or two vases of flowers is thought to prolong the 482 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: life of the plants. I have never tried that one 483 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,480 Speaker 1: me neither. Just don't make your don't make your Christmas 484 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 1: tree water accidentally flammable. In the eighteen sixties, the smear 485 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: Knof distillery added annis and egg whites to combine with 486 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: the vodka to make it more delicious. I would like 487 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: to disagree smear enough about whether that would be more delicious. 488 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:58,639 Speaker 1: Is it the liquorice or the egg white etic I 489 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 1: love liquorice, so this sounds still light. You can have 490 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,479 Speaker 1: if you've never had like egg white foam in an 491 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:06,679 Speaker 1: alcoholic drink, and that may sound weird to you. I 492 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: encourage you, if you are of legal drinking age, to 493 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 1: try it because it's quite interesting. There's a there's some 494 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:14,840 Speaker 1: good tiki drinks to feature it as well. Uh, this 495 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:17,880 Speaker 1: is another one that I love. Inn. The Bullshoy Theater 496 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 1: in Moscow, which was originally built in seventeen seventy six, 497 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,399 Speaker 1: went through a major spruce up and renovation. It actually 498 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: started far before eleven, but that's when it finished after 499 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 1: it had been neglected for several decades. But when it 500 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,359 Speaker 1: came to the finishing touches performed by guilders, they turned 501 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,600 Speaker 1: to a medieval recipe. It turns out to make perfect 502 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: gold guilt, egg whites have to be first kept in 503 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,800 Speaker 1: a warm room for forty days, and then those egg 504 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 1: whites are mixed with a clay, and then the magic ingredient, 505 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: vodka is added to that mixture, which is then used 506 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: to apply gold leaf and according to Mikhail Sudarov, who 507 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,000 Speaker 1: works for the company that handled this refurbishment project, quote, 508 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: this method keeps gold from being overused and helps retain 509 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:04,400 Speaker 1: its luster for fifty to seventy years. So, in essence, 510 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 1: the same kind of thing that makes baked bread look 511 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 1: shiny and delicious will also make your gold gleam and 512 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 1: gleam in the light. Due to an uptick in specific diets, 513 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: there are now vodka's marketed that fit within various eating restrictions, 514 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: So any domestically made non flavored, grain or potato based 515 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: vodka in the US is considered kosher. Some brands made 516 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,160 Speaker 1: outside the US to use to seek Kosher certification from 517 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:35,959 Speaker 1: the Orthodox Union, including stolach Naya and Crystal Head, and 518 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: some vodkas include messaging on the label about their gluten 519 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: free status. Yeah, if you have dietary restrictions, there is 520 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: probably a company out there making vodka that wants to 521 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 1: make sure you know you can drink whatever it is 522 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: they're making. Um. And because I love talking about art, 523 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:57,200 Speaker 1: we're gonna end with innovative Norwegian artist Zebjorn sand And. 524 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: When sound was visiting Antarctica and was inspired to hate 525 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: using the watercolors that he had brought with him. He 526 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: ran into a little bit of a problem, which is 527 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: his paints were freezing before he could get anything done. 528 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 1: And his Russian guides suggested vodka, and he found success 529 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: when he mixed that with his pigments, and he called 530 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 1: the resulting technique vodka color. I love a little innovation. 531 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: I feel like vodka is sort of one of those 532 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: universal solvent substances because it does get you still medicinely, 533 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:30,840 Speaker 1: still for cleaning and a stringent needs, and also in 534 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: art and also to make things beautiful and guilt edged 535 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: with gold fabulous. Again, don't overindulge. Please be careful with 536 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 1: your vodka consumption, or don't drink at all. If that 537 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: is the choice that you would rather make. Yeah, totally fine. 538 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,480 Speaker 1: Uh what whatever works for you and is best for 539 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,880 Speaker 1: your health. I feel a little like Steve Rule. But 540 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: when I'm back up off of that, I have a 541 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:01,720 Speaker 1: postcard this week. But here's the problem. I'm going to 542 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 1: read it, but I don't know who it's from because 543 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:06,840 Speaker 1: it appears they did not sign it. I think they 544 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,920 Speaker 1: just forgot because it's a lovely little note. Uh. But 545 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:12,840 Speaker 1: if you were the person that sent this to us. 546 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: Thank you, and I'm sorry we can't say your name 547 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: on the air because I don't see it anywhere on 548 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,959 Speaker 1: the card, although they did put a little additional thing 549 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 1: that says thank you for being awesome up in the corner, 550 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 1: but not their name, but they wrote, Hey ladies. I 551 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,040 Speaker 1: visited San Francisco in December. I just had to go 552 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 1: to the trolley Car Museum, which Tracy talked about in 553 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 1: her San Francisco trolley Car episode that she wrote. I 554 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:36,240 Speaker 1: talked about it as well, but she did the research 555 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,200 Speaker 1: on that one. My boyfriend was hesitant to go, but 556 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: he uh literally didn't stop talking about it afterwards. We 557 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: also visited Quite Tower and learned about Lily, so I 558 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 1: thought i'd share. And the postcard is a picture of 559 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:54,120 Speaker 1: Lily Hitchcock quoit uh and the caption on the back 560 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 1: of the postcard says, seven year old Lily Hitchcock's life 561 00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: was saved by volunteers of Knickerbocker Engine Live Ever after 562 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 1: Lily was their patron and honorary member of the company. 563 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:08,920 Speaker 1: Lily's bequest for San Francisco's beautification built Quite Tower. Uh. 564 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: So that's a cool little combo of visiting a place 565 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:13,800 Speaker 1: we've talked about on the show and giving us a 566 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 1: little mini education via postcard. So thank you, thank you, 567 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: thank you to whatever wonderful person sent us this. Uh. 568 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 569 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,000 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at how stuff works dot com. 570 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 1: You can also find us everywhere on social media as 571 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 1: missed in History, and you can go to missed in 572 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,600 Speaker 1: History dot com to see all of the episodes of 573 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,760 Speaker 1: the show that have ever existed, including show notes on 574 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,600 Speaker 1: any of the ones Tracy and I have worked on. 575 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: If you would like to subscribe to the show, that 576 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 1: sounds like a grand idea to me. You can do 577 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:43,000 Speaker 1: that through the I Heart Radio app, the Apple podcast player, 578 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. For more on this 579 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit housetop works dot com.