How to Drink Vodka like a Russian
Usually, when I ask people if they've ever consumed vodka Russian-style, or if I ask them if they "know how Russians drink vodka", I am normally met with a series of guffaws and snide remarks having something to do with the quantity ("by the bottle!") and speed ("as fast as possible!") at which it is consumed.
On the contrary, however, just as there are celebratory and otherwise ceremonial methods of consuming other spirits, I learned a few years ago from my ex-roommate, a Russian, a bit of vodka etiquette.
Most readers are probably familar with
tequila. You know, the
salt, the
shot, and the
lime. Similarly, when drinking vodka with Russians, there are usually three steps:
- Consume the shot
- Eat a piece of pickle
- Smell a piece of bread, usually rye.
Apparently, this methodology was derived as a means to remove the
flavour and
odour of the vodka, but it is generally done regardless of the vodka's quality -- unless you're drinking that flavoured stuff. Somehow, I don't think raspberry
Stoli would go too well with pickles... regardless, this is actually surprisingly tasty, and you'll find yourself wishing you had more pickles in your fridge.
There are a few variations on the vodka drinking/eating process - sometimes you might just forego the rye altogether, and simply consume vodka and pickles. Another method, which was personally not too appetizing when I partook, was eating bites of cod or some other fish, smothered in sour cream, after drinking the shot.
Regardless of how you do it, or what you eat, if in Russia, be prepared to do a lot of it - it is considered somewhat impolite or uncultured if you leave the table with anything less than an empty bottle... and while we're on it, the empty bottle should never be placed back upon the table. The more superstitious Russian folk consider this a harbinger of bad luck.