When did vodka appear in Russia? History of the national drink

Russian vodka is represented today in any more or less decent store in any part of Russia with at least 20-30 species. The beverage is a mixture of the alcohol obtained on the distillation column and the purified prepared water. But about the drink called "vodka" is known already since 1386 (six years after the memorable Kulikovo battle), and the distillation column was invented by the French already in the XIX century.

So when vodka appeared in Russia, what did it represent and what do we buy in the store now?

What drank from ancient times our ancestors

The process of sublimation was not always. But strong drinks have been known since the writing began. Living in the vastness of South America and Africa tribes, in order to raise their spirits, eaten those who began to wander the sweet fruits of some plants.

It's all about microscopic fungi - yeast. Simply put, these microorganisms feed on sugar, and produce ethyl alcohol C ₂ H ₅ (OH). Wild yeasts live on the skin of many species of berries and fruits. And when vodka appeared in Russia, the fermentation process was well known.

Slavs used products of fermentation without sublimation, in pure form. There was also no sugar in those days, so the food for yeast was honey or sweet fruit. Today, however, not everyone knows the recipe how to boil real drinking honey, how to ferment kvass.

Also in Russia, mainly in agrarian areas, many drinks were made based on grain malts - barley, rye. These are the same kvass. In addition, beer was brewed from the sprouted grain. Malt malt was also used, on its basis a drink, adopted from the Tatars, was prepared - a bouzou.

Who invented the distillation

The one who invented vodka in Russia did not make a revolution in the history of alcoholic beverages. The earliest references to the process of distillation, discovered by historians, date back to the first century AD. E. It was used, if you believe in hieroglyphics, not for drinking. The ancient Greek alchemists tried with his help to cook gold, create philosophical stones.

Development of distillation was in the Ancient East in the XI-XII centuries. The east was famous for the achievements of medicine, the product of distillation was used by the esculapius for the preparation of drugs and medicines (alcohol is much more effective than water dissolves in itself various active substances, it can be used to prepare much more effective extracts from plants). That is, alcohol has already begun to be consumed, however, so far only for medicinal purposes.

Europe, cognac and perfumery

Approximately in the middle of the XII century distillation became widespread in Europe. Initially, the distillation was used, as in the case of the Arabs, for the preparation of medicines and in chemical experiments. But the French would not be themselves if they did not give the distillate another use - the production of cosmetics. When vodka appeared in Russia, in Europe alcohol was already used to the fullest, including for consumption inside.

The history of the appearance of cognac is one of the most elite beverages of our time. Historians argue that the blame, oddly enough, has become a crisis.

Overproduction of wine in one of the French cities led to the accumulation of huge stocks of this drink in the warehouses. The wine was sour, spoiled and promised the owner big losses. And then it was decided to drive it all into grape alcohol.

Then another crisis, thanks to which grape alcohol, which for a long time did not find demand, lay for several years forgotten in oak barrels.

The liquid, extracted later from the barrels, struck with its properties. In addition to the unusual taste and aroma, it, unlike wines, could be stored for any length of time and transported to any distance.

Who taught "drive" the Russians

It is not known exactly what year vodka appeared in Russia, but chronicles were preserved that the first product of distillation, viz., Grape alcohol, was brought to Dmitry Donskoy as a gift by Genoese merchants. The further fate of the gift is unknown, at least, the distribution of the drink this time was not received.

Repeatedly the merchants brought to Russia already a large batch of alcohol, this was during the reign of Basil II of the Dark in 1429. It is curious that the second time, when vodka appeared in Russia, it did not cause the ruling classes to delight. Moreover, the drink was recognized as harmful and forbidden to import into the Moscow Principality.

When did vodka become a Russian drink

The development of production and consumption of vodka in the Moscow lands is customarily associated with the name of Ivan Vasilyevich Grozny. In what century did vodka appear in Russia of its own production? The most probable period is the end of the XV - the beginning of the XVI century. In spite of the ban, noble noblemen, as well as monks in monasteries, quietly drove her into the estates.

It is known for certain that John IV ordered the establishment of the sovereign's distillery, where vodka was produced and sold. Initially, the establishments made a drink exclusively for the tsarist oprichnina and the streltsy. However, soon after realizing the benefits of selling alcohol, Grozny ordered to establish taverns for every estate.

Home production of alcoholic beverages, including low-alcohol products of fermentation, was under strict prohibition. And Ivan the Terrible did not disdain the brave ones.

What was the real "Russian vodka"

As is already clear from the narrative, the history of vodka in Russia, real vodka, is the history of the emergence of refined grain moonshine, the very thing that is still being raced here and there in the villages. It was this drink that was the original Russian vodka.

Sugar in those days was unknown, so the "food" for the yeast could serve either sweet fruit (the middle strip is not so rich) or the malt - sprouted and dried grain, with it just in Muscovy in the harvest years everything was in order.

The grain was scattered evenly and covered with a damp cloth. After a while sprouts appeared, the grain acquired a sweet taste. After that, the material was dried on a stove, rubbed with hands and sieved. Thus, the seeds were cleared of germs and rootlets. Next followed by grinding in a mill.

Bread yeast was used instead of fermented berries. In general, in large industries, a portion of the already operating brags was simply taken and added to fresh ones.

They drove vodka, or "bread wine", vtemnuyu. This method of production can still be found. This is done when there is no homeowner, and you really want to drink.

Russian vodka in the estates

Some Russian vodka undeservedly considered a drink primitive, rough with low taste properties. But the history of the appearance of vodka in Russia is akin to the history of cognac. In the beginning, when the distillation of grape raw materials was done in one run, the whole product was used for drinking without monitoring the temperature regime. The quality of the drink was hardly better than the most nasty moonshine.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Russian landowners made a completely different drink than the one that produced the distillery of the terrible king. We note the appearance of vodka in Russia purified on charcoal, obtained on the apparatus with a coil.

The distillation was done twice, and in the process itself, only the middle, pure both of methyl ("head") impurities and of heavy fusel oils ("tails") was taken for consumption.

Recipes of infusions on various herbs were passed from generation to generation. And if we take into account the fact that in those days the properties of plants were not known better than now (people knew when to harvest the herbs, how to store them), then we can assume that the result was also appropriate.

Ladies prepared a special "female" vodka. There are a lot of names for this drink: spottych, pouring, ratafia. Made ratafia from all kinds of fruits and berries. The highest glamor was to have in the house of a liqueur:

• Apricot;
• Cranberry,
• Cherry;
• Blueberry.

And so on throughout the alphabet to the letter "I". Here is a drink, our vodka.

Russian vodka - one of the victims of the First World War

The production of vodka from grain is not cheap. In the early 19th century, a rectifying column was invented in France. From any fermented raw materials (sugar beet, frozen potatoes), it was possible to obtain ethyl alcohol of higher purity. To use this alcohol for consumption inside no one was going to, used it as a technical one.

In Russia, this equipment began to appear in the 1860s. Almost immediately, alcohol was used to prepare strong spirits, while in small batches and as an experiment.

Then came the First World War. On the battlefields, Russia equipped a thousand-strong army. It was too wasteful to produce vodka for frontline hundred grams of bread that was in short supply, and here the rectification column served as a real salvation for the tsar's budget. The Bolsheviks, having taken power, did not change anything. And why, such a help to the budget!

Vodka and Mendeleev

Often you hear a lot of fables, from where vodka appeared in Russia. Many of these ridiculous stories are connected with the name of the great Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleyev. So for example, on many resources you can find "historical" data that Mendeleev:

• Was a drunkard;
• At the request of the government, determined that vodka should have a fortress of 40%;
• One time got drunk to such an extent that in his dream his famous periodic table of elements appeared.

Dmitry Ivanovich really has something to do with 40%, but this figure has nothing to do with an alcoholic drink. With this concentration of alcohol and water, the maximum mutual penetration of molecules is achieved.

As for everything else, nothing more than tales invented often outside the territory of Russia, like "Potemkin villages" or dances of drunken Russians under an accordion with wild bears.