I realized in Mark Lawrence Shrad's e-book Vodka Politics that the e-book A Historical past of Vodka by William Pokhlebkin is filled with falsehoods, and that the writer was truly assassinated (although I'm undecided if that was immediately associated to the e-book). 

I’ve a number of different books on vodka however none as as satisfying for historical past (understanding what I do know now in regards to the historical past of distillation and alcohol as medication), so in a latest seek for a greater historical past of the subject I turned to The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. 

The vodka entry there fortunately was written by Mark Lawrence Shrad. His different books have extra to do with the influence of alcohol on society (he has one other e-book on the Prohibition globally). That historical past is nice, and he cites one other paper I don't assume I'd seen earlier than: 

Scott Simpson: Historical past and Mythology of Polish Vodka:1270-2007 

Immediately, vodka is a vital ingredient in Polish nationwide identification. The distillation of wine was identified to a small variety of Polish physicians and students by the top of the13th century, however widespread reputation of distillates as drinks didn’t come sooner than the top of the 16 th century.Grain vodkas, particularly rye vodkas, have been an essential a part of Polish tradition since no less than the early seventeenth century.Polish potato vodkas arose within the late 18th century and dominated manufacturing within the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however then fell to minimal ranges.

    Your complete 28 web page paper is offered right here.