Wow - Those Russians Can Drink.

[NamKangMan]

Just thought I would pass on an observation I made last night.

I went down to a restaurant in Patong. Just your usual Thai plastic table and chair type restaurant. Good service and cheap fresh food - been there many times.

Shortly after I sit down, a Russian guy comes in, places a 750ml bottle of vodka on a table and sits down. He orders his food and a Tiger beer and the staff bring him a glass for his vodka.

Now, he starts. A shot of vodka, washed down with beer. He's getting stuck into his vodka bottle, good and proper.

My food arrives, and soon after, so does his. Every second fork full of food, down goes another shot of vodka.

I finish my food and finish off a beer. I was going to pay the bill and leave, but I ordered another beer to see how this was going to turn out.

By now, he's finished eating and the bottle is nearly empty and he's on his second Tiger beer. He is joined by a Russian friend and he pours him a shot. A few minutes later, a Russian women joins them and she gets a shot as well. I'm thinking he must have left them a shot each. He finishes what little vodka is left, and asks for the bill.

I first thought he was drinking heavily out of depression - maybe his bar girl left him or something similar, but he was jovial enough with his friends.

So, I'm thinking he would be starting to show signs of intoxication by now. Maybe fumbling his money, unsteady on his feet, talking loud etc. This guy politely pays the bill and walks out of the restaurant appearing completely sober.

This Russian guy downs all but two shots of vodka from a 750ml bottle and shrugs it off like it's nothing.

I was quite impressed.

I don't mind a drink, or three, but I couldn't compete with this guy. For all I know, all three of them went out for the night and he had more to drink.

I'm sure vodka sales have gone up on Phuket since the TAT has targeted the Russian market.

Anyway, just thought I would post my observation on a slow forum Sunday afternoon.

[asiansun]

wow...i hate vodka, but i was speaking to a russian work mate and he told me that russians do not get hangovers from drinking vodka for some strange reason. fair play to them.

[KarenBravo]

Well...........I wouldn't want to swap livers with him.

[Guest]

Good vodka is pretty "pure" drink, which does not contain many impurities which make the hangovers worse. Ice cold vodka is actually pretty good.

Then there is the Russian menus, pickles loaded with salt and vinegar, smetana and others which are pretty much perfect to cure and maybe even can prevent hangovers. Altogether, well optimized procedure!

[Loptr]

Well...........I wouldn't want to swap livers with him.

Probably already had it replaced with an oil filter from a car.

[tolsti]

This is perfectly normal in Russia. 2 business men will sit down for lunch in a restaurant, demolish a litre of vodka between them and then head off back to work.

Even having lived there I cannot work it out.

There was a time when Western men were the dogs nuts in the FSU.... not because they earned more but partially because they drank less.

Needless to say we did attempt to disavow them of that impression.

Russia in the early 90's was crazy.

[Gsxrnz]

Jeez....imagine how much a visibly drunk Russian must have consumed based on the OP's hypothesis that almost a 750ml of vodka has no effect - we're talking truckloads by the sound of it!

[JetsetBkk]

Jeez....imagine how much a visibly drunk Russian must have consumed based on the OP's hypothesis that almost a 750ml of vodka has no effect - we're talking truckloads by the sound of it!

They're not all alcoholics.

Obviously he was.

Tough luck, he'll regret it one day. Soon.

[Jingthing]

Russian men have a huge alcoholism rate. It is one of the most serious problems in Russian society. They are very macho with the big drinking but many are early dead. You choose.

[NamKangMan]

Jeez....imagine how much a visibly drunk Russian must have consumed based on the OP's hypothesis that almost a 750ml of vodka has no effect - we're talking truckloads by the sound of it!

You read about this sort of thing with a rock or movie star, but not your average Russian citizen.

Yes, you would have to wonder just how much alcohol this guy would now need to consume to get drunk.

[Ping]

They start early. In many households of former soviet bloc-type nations, a traditional breakfast includes a glass of spirit.

[bubblegum]

So the people who die in the winter time in Russia, being to drunk to find their way home, how much do they drink I wonder..

[Guest]

Obviously they don't drink enough to keep the body warm. Amateurs..

[KarenBravo]

Alcohol is the last thing anyone should take to keep warm.

It dilates the blood vessels, so, you lose body-heat faster.

[Guest]

Uh. I know as I lived my youth above 60° latitude..

[XINLOI]

I have lived and worked in Russia and everyone of those people can drink vodka. The main reason there is no hangover from their vodka is because it is pure and has no additives. The vodka that is exported or made in other countries has additives that cause the hangover. The best way to drink vodka is to freeze it overnight, then drink it straight up, shot by shot. You will be suprised by the amount that you pour down, but you will wake up like nothing happened.

[KarenBravo]

Righto.......

[koo]

I have lived and worked in Russia and everyone of those people can drink vodka. The main reason there is no hangover from their vodka is because it is pure and has no additives. The vodka that is exported or made in other countries has additives that cause the hangover. The best way to drink vodka is to freeze it overnight, then drink it straight up, shot by shot. You will be suprised by the amount that you pour down, but you will wake up like nothing happened.

Genuine Russian Vodka really is worth a try. No hangover, but you might wake up still drunk as heck.

Try Stolichnaya or Russki Standart straight up. Does not even taste bad, even if it is room temperature. I could not imagine even trying that with Absolut or Smirnoff, not to mention Rubiskaya or other cheaper brands.

[Baerboxer]

Obviously they don't drink enough to keep the body warm. Amateurs..

Doesn't drinking alcohol reduce body temperature?

[Baerboxer]

I had friends from the Russian consulate in India. One of the senior guys told me that most Russian families would get through at least a bottle of vodka a day. I have a Russian friend in Bangkok and she tells me it's still the same. Russians, Poles and most Scandanavians I know are heavy spirit drinkers. Guess they just like it.

[jbrain]

Vodka is Russian for water, and actually it also looks identical to water.

That Russian guy is now rolling over the floor in laughter when he reads this thread, knowing how he fooled the OP with his bottle of real water

[Eesat]

I have lived and worked in Russia and everyone of those people can drink vodka. The main reason there is no hangover from their vodka is because it is pure and has no additives. The vodka that is exported or made in other countries has additives that cause the hangover. The best way to drink vodka is to freeze it overnight, then drink it straight up, shot by shot. You will be suprised by the amount that you pour down, but you will wake up like nothing happened.

Vodka doesn't freeze at very low temperatures,that's why it's so popular in countries like Russia,Ukraine Poland etc!

[Jingthing]

It's their culture. Didn't you know?

http://www.georgiapoliticalreview.com/alcoholism-in-russia/

For over a thousand years, the liquid vice of people around the world
has comforted, entertained, and quenched the thirst of the Russian
people, seeping into and saturating the national culture. But when it
rains, it pours.

What Americans generally regard as the fuel for rip-roaring good
times and poor life decisions, has sparked in Russia, in the words of
President Dmitry Medvedev, a “national disaster.”

...

Russian culture is killing Russians.

[tvanorden]

I don't care how pure it is.....drinking that much vodka would give me a severe hangover!!!!!!

[stevehaigh]

This is perfectly normal in Russia. 2 business men will sit down for lunch in a restaurant, demolish a litre of vodka between them and then head off back to work.

Even having lived there I cannot work it out.

There was a time when Western men were the dogs nuts in the FSU.... not because they earned more but partially because they drank less.

Needless to say we did attempt to disavow them of that impression.

Russia in the early 90's was crazy.

i used to work in France 20+ years ago. it was pretty normal to knock off a bottle of wine or 2 with lunch in the works cafeteria. good days.

Edited May 20, 2013 by stevehaigh

[stevehaigh]

I have lived and worked in Russia and everyone of those people can drink vodka. The main reason there is no hangover from their vodka is because it is pure and has no additives. The vodka that is exported or made in other countries has additives that cause the hangover. The best way to drink vodka is to freeze it overnight, then drink it straight up, shot by shot. You will be suprised by the amount that you pour down, but you will wake up like nothing happened.

Vodka doesn't freeze at very low temperatures,that's why it's so popular in countries like Russia,Ukraine Poland etc!

freezing temps separates the water from the alcohol, i've seen it many times when skiing

[Guest]

I have lived and worked in Russia and everyone of those people can drink vodka. The main reason there is no hangover from their vodka is because it is pure and has no additives. The vodka that is exported or made in other countries has additives that cause the hangover. The best way to drink vodka is to freeze it overnight, then drink it straight up, shot by shot. You will be suprised by the amount that you pour down, but you will wake up like nothing happened.

Vodka doesn't freeze at very low temperatures,that's why it's so popular in countries like Russia,Ukraine Poland etc!

freezing temps separates the water from the alcohol, i've seen it many times when skiing

Maybe with liquids which have lower ethanol levels. To freeze 40% (80 proof) vodka would require -26C temperature, which is time there is nobody skiing as the wind cold factor is pretty high when going fast downhill.

In generally it's safe to put vodka to the freezer as it does not freeze on those temperatures (-18C). However the viscosity of the vodka increases which can be seen when pouring it to the glass. It comes out slightly slowly, a bit like oil.

Pure ethanol freezes on -116C which is the reason it's used on temperature meters up north instead of mercury, which freezes at -38.8C. Yes it sometimes can get that cold..

[Guest]

I don't care how pure it is.....drinking that much vodka would give me a severe hangover!!!!!!

You could always try to improve the quality of your vodka. That should really work. It might work with other spirits as well, but in case of Laphroaig or other tasty whiskey it would be raping the aromas.

Turning cheap vodka into better quality one by filtering it

http://lifehacker.com/5404375/increase-the-quality-of-cheap-vodka-with-a-water-filter

And teaching video

http://www.howcast.com/videos/213805-How-to-Turn-Cheap-Vodka-into-the-Good-Stuff

Phuket being diving destination, activated charcoal is easily available here. To cure the hangover, one should visit technical diving center which can sell bottles with pure oxygen.

[keestha]

To cure the hangover, one should visit technical diving center which can sell bottles with pure oxygen.

No oxygen bars yet eh, like in Japan?

[jocko]

Scottish vodka to Russia