Letters to the Editor

Vodka Lovers of the World ...

To the Editors:

I savored every sentence of your spirited (April) issue on vodka but searched in vain for a reference to Ukrainian vodka. Having spent three years in Warsaw and two in Moscow as a US diplomat, I have swallowed enough vodka to float a small boat and believe I am qualified to say that good Ukrainian vodka equals the best of Russia and Poland. In fact, I have been told that much of Russian vodka, today as in the past, is made in Ukraine. My current favorite is Zhitomirskaya, produced in Ivano-Frankivsk, the former Polish city of Stanislawow, and a best buy at only $8.99 a bottle. Your readers should also know that Scandinavian aquavit (water of life) is also a vodka, as is the German schnapps, and that whiskey is “water of life” in Gaelic, showing how much people of northern climes have in common.