Vodka is a distilled beverage and one of the world’s most popular liquors. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made from fermented substances like grain and potatoes.
For a liquor to be denominated vodka, governments often establish a minimum alcohol content. Vodka’s alcoholic content usually ranges between 35–70% by volume. The standard Polish, Russian and Lithuanian vodkas are 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof). The European Union has established a minimum of 37.5% alcohol by volume content for any European vodka to be named as such. Vodka is traditionally drunk straight up in the vodka belt countries of Eastern Europe and around the Baltic Sea. It is also commonly used in cocktails and mixed drinks, such as the Bloody Mary, the Screwdriver, the Sex on the Beach, the White Russian, the Black Russian, the vodka tonic, and the vodka martini.