National Vodka Day is October 4th

Those of you that are in the know will doubtlessly be aware that 4 October marked “National Vodka Day”. This is a day that vodka lovers the world over celebrate en masse their love for their favourite spirit.  This year the day actually fell on a Sunday which may have resulted in a fair few sore heads at work on the following Monday. However, despite a commonly held belief, vodka does not always have to be drank to excess to be enjoyed. In fact, vodka has a long and storied history.

The origin of the drink is still somewhat of a contentious issue, this is primarily because the drink has probably been around since the 8th or 9th century and there are no records to definitively state where or when the drink was born.

There is a commonly held belief that vodka originated from Russia, however there is a long standing debate amongst scholars regarding its place of origin. It is generally accepted that it either originated in Poland in the 8th century or Russia in the early 9th century.

We are specialist drink drive solicitors and represent people from all over the world. We therefore take the view that it is important to be aware of laws in other nations.  In England and Wales in order to be able to (legally) drive you must have no more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The drink drive limit in Poland is significantly lower and it is illegal to drive whilst having a blood alcohol content of any more than 20 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. In Poland a reading of between 20 and 50mg/ml can result in a fine and a reading in excess of 50mg can result in a prison sentence. It is of course highly inadvisable for anyone to partake in the festivities of National Vodka Day before driving, but those of you reading in Poland will be even more at risk given that a reading as low as 20mg/100ml can result in a conviction.

Vodka certainly has a great longevity and is now one of the most popular spirits on the planet. Recent polls place it as second on the world’s favourite spirit. It’s hardly surprising that it ranks so high given that it is the primary ingredient in so many cocktails. Cosmopolitans, Blue Lagoons, Black Russians and screwdrivers to name a few of them.

The above quote is from American comedian, Ron White who will no doubt have been joining in the fun of National Vodka Day. We hope that you enjoyed the festivities and did not go to work with too much of a nasty headache the following Monday!