In this documentary vice travelled to the front lines of the Vodka Wars and discovered that the tortured history of Russian-Polish relations can be saved in a bottle. Vodka is a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavourings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits and/or sugar. Vodka is a spirit that was virtually unknown in the United States prior to the 1940s. Traditionally prepared vodkas had an alcoholic content of 40% by volume. Today, the standard Belarusian, Polish, Russian and Lithuanian vodkas are 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 80 proof. The European Union has established a minimum of 37. 5% ABV for any “European vodka” to be named as such. Products sold as vodka in the United States must have an alcoholic content of 30% or more. For home-made vodkas and distilled beverages referred to as moonshine.
