For National Vodka Day, a few quiet words about the national beverage of Russia. To drink vodka with Perfect Propriety it must be ice cold, as cold as the steppes of Russia, in fact - “as cold as banished Hope,” as the poets say. Many people choose not to keep their vodka bottles in the liquor cabinet at home, but in the freezer. This is appropriate.
When serving, have a tray of very small glasses. These are often referred to as shot glasses, but sometimes there are small vodka glasses with stems. Contrary to the barroom stereotype, vodka is not tossed back in one big gulp, but sipped slowly. Often there are toasts. Don’t drain the glass. As others have observed elsewhere, it’s endurance that counts, not speed. Now, if you really want to drink vodka as the Russians do, Atlas Obscura can advise you best.
Vodka, like all alcoholic beverages, is only Not Perfectly Proper when it is consumed in excess*. This generally includes any consumption before noon (11 AM only for Sunday brunch Bloody Marys). As noted before, vodka is the preferred alcohol to serve with caviar rather than champagne (but if champagne is your preference, far be it from Etiquetteer to keep you from it).
The Perfect Propriety of vodka is not confined to hospitality or consumption, but also housekeeping. Decant it into a spray bottle (often with water and perhaps a bit of essential oil) and it becomes an effective cleaner for all sort of things. It can also be used to clean clothes of bad odors. In fact, Etiquetteer has seen it in more than one theatre’s costume shop an economy-sized bottle of bottom-shelf vodka for just that. (Visit Taste of Home for specifics on exactly how to use vodka for cleaning.) You can also use vodka to clean your diamonds.
The late Joan Crawford famously noted that “It is not 80 proof and it is only Smirnoff!” Etiquetteer instead has come to be very fond of Ryan and Wood’s Beauport Vodka - so bracing - as well as Żubrówka bison grass vodka from Poland, which has a fresh-tasting uniqueness. All vodka fanciers have their favorites. Enjoy yours, responsibly, with Perfect Propriety.
*For those who abstain for religious or medical reasons, then any consumption is consumption in excess.