It was only in the 1960s that Vodka really emerged in any quantity from behind the iron curtain to be drunk with any regularity in the West. One of those odd statistics which appear from time to time says that in Britain, each person consumes a litre of vodka every year. Someone is drinking a huge amount - who is drinking mine and my husband's and that of about 16 other adults I know who rarely drink it? Its main value comes in the fact that it is good in cocktails and mixes of various kinds. It was first made in Russia and and Poland for medicinal purposes, in which it was used both as anaesthetic and as a disinfectant for cleaning wounds. It is generally distilled from potatoes though it may be made from almost anything that ferments. Voda is the Russian for water and vodka, like eau-de-vie and aquavit, and even whiskey in Gaelic, means 'water of life'. It is genuinely associated with fewer headaches than some other spirits as it is purified to remove the congeners, which cause them.
