No Vodka Victory for Poland
Poland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark are hopping mad after an EU decision went against them last week.
French and British distillers have won the right to call a range of alcoholic drinks 'vodka', despite not employing traditional elements such as potatoes or grain in the distillery process.
The northern European countries are outraged, citing the strict definitions of whisky and grappa as examples of double standards favouring big hitters like Britain and Italy.
In what appears to be a bizarre compromise, the EU has stated that true vodka must indeed be made from potato or grain but drinks can still be called vodka provided that there is an explanation somewhere on the bottle referring to the unconventional fruits that they were made from.
Vodka has been made in Poland and Sweden for over five hundred years, but Britain has now become the second biggest 'vodka' producer in Europe.