Vodka’s Origin Story
Where did vodka originate
Where did vodka originate? Unfortunately, the true origin of vodka may be lost to history. Russians and Poles both claim to have invented it, and there is insufficient documentation to solve the dispute.
Origin of Vodka leads to Poland’s earliest record dates to 1533, when a medical drink (“gorzeć” from the Polish word for “to burn”) was brought to Russia from Poland. The first Russian reference to “vodka” (meaning “little water”) is from much later—1751—but the spirit was known in Russia long before then.
What historians do agree on is that before being used as an alcoholic beverage, vodka was widely used for medicinal purposes and in cosmetics and cleaners.