The Russian Czar, Peter the Great was one of the first ambassadors of the spirit during the late 17th century.

Peter explored new means of distilling and exporting the great spirit to other places in Europe - like France. An old Russian saying says, "Vodka is an aunt of wine.

The earliest recorded history dates to in Poland. Poles claim that vodka originated in Poland and later distilled in Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics.

Poland became a leader in vodka production in the 17th Century and was considered the finest in all of Europe. It became a well-established social drink with more than varieties to choose from - the potato being the raw material of choice.

The spirit became so popular that it was used as a means of barter and trade when funds were difficult to come by during communist times. In , Lancut, the oldest working Vodka distillery was founded in Poland and produced a Kosher vodka that boosted the quality of the spirit.

The vodka had to comply with strict Jewish standards of food and drink preparation which, in turn, raised the quality of the vodka.

Ukrainians also developed their own brand of vodka that differed from their Russian and Polish cousins.

Ukrainian vodka gorilka; meaning up in flames was produced from wheat rather than potatoes. Russians considered Ukrainian vodka of poor quality and was sold only in taverns.

In Sweden, vodka brannwein has been produced for the past four hundred years. Originally sold for medicinal purposes to cure headaches, kidney stones and toothaches, it was not until the late 16th century that vodka was sold as a luxury beverage.

The Swedish government attempted to ban 'brannwein' in the mid 17th century due to the adverse effects it had on the soldiers and farmers, but quickly reversed their decision when the banning of the spirit would reduce the amount of revenue generated through taxes.

However, it was the Swedes that introduced serving vodka ice cold. Regardless of this spirit's origins the ultimate quest was and is to remove the impurities that all spirits contain.

The raw materials are boiled in an enclosed container drawing the alcoholic fumes to the top of the container then the fumes are cooled in a separate container.

Modern distillers use multiple distillation columns and continuous stills with multiple plates in their interior. Steam is allowed to enter at the top of the column and the plates bounce the vapour between them, which separates the alcohol vapour.

These vapours are collected and cooled in a separate condenser. The final product is a pure alcoholic spirit, with any flavouring added at the end.

You could launch rockets from your kitchen with this kind of purity! Early in its inception, herbs, spices and fruits were added to mask the impure taste of the vodka, while these days the process of infusing vodka and other spirits furthers their uniqueness.

With such a history it would be difficult to not see vodka's interesting spirit. With cases of Smirnoff being produced at the rate of 15 million cases worldwide every year, vodka and all its idiosyncrasies and hazy history is definitely a spirit that will haunt lounges for years to come.

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