Author Patricia Herlihy talks about her book Vodka: A Global History.

Vodka has been the staple drink in Slavic lands for at least six hundred years and some would claim inextricably bound to its culture. This clear but powerful distilled beverage supplied an alcoholic drink not only for celebrations, but also fueled the Russian and Soviet economy. These days, vodka is blamed for Russia’s soaring death rates. So why has North America embraced this fascinating and versatile drink? How did it happen that vodka has overtaken America’s own native drink, bourbon? Why has vodka gone global? The ways in which vodka distillers have packaged and pitched their product, and the corresponding ways by which consumers have come to define themselves through their choice of brands, reveal as much about vodka as it does our own world. However vodka is drunk, whether straight, infused, flavored or mixed, the history of vodka is a story of an old spirit that has become the perfect postmodern drink. Mysterious in its origin, beguiling in its allure, vodka is a rising star.