Vodka The most famous alcoholic drink in Russia is of course vodka. The word vodka is the diminutive form of the Russian word for water – voda (‘вода’). There is a wide range of brands of vodka in Russia and it is not unusual for a whole aisle in a supermarket to be dedicated just to vodka. In Russian the alcohol volume of vodka is always at least 40%. Russians generally drink vodka straight in shots after making a toast. After knocking it back they follow it with some zakuski. You can also buy flavoured vodka in Russia, and some of the flavours are uniquely Russian, for example horseradish vodka which is known as khrenovukha (хреновуха), garlic vodka and honey and chili vodka. Similar to vodka is the Ukrainian drink called gorilka (горилка) and the drink called nastoika (настойка) which is usually weaker than vodka and flavoured with fruit or herbs.
