Except for insignificant amounts of flavorings, horilka consists of water and alcohol (ethanol). Horilka usually has an alcohol content ranging from 35 to 60 percent by volume. The classic Ukrainian or Russian horilka / vodka is 40 percent (80 degrees proof), the number being attributed to the famous Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. According to the Vodka Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mendeleev thought the perfect percentage to be 38, but since spirits in his time were taxed on their strength the percentage was rounded up to 40 to simplify the tax computation. Nowdays you can also find 38 percent horilka, but is usually called "Light".

Although horilka is generally consumed "straight" in its Central European and Scandinavian homeland, its growth in popularity elsewhere owes much to its usefulness in cocktails and other mixed drinks, such as the Bloody Mary, the Bullshot, and the Vodka Martini (also known as a Vodkatini), a dry martini made with vodka instead of gin.

The origins of horilka (and of its name) cannot be traced definitively, but it is believed to have originated in the grain-growing regions that now embrace Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and western Russia. It also has a long tradition in Scandinavia.

Apart from the alcoholic content, horilka / vodka may be classified into two main groups: clear horilka and flavored horilka. Flavorings often include red pepper, ginger, various fruit flavors, vanilla, chocolate (unsweetened), and cinnamon. Ukrainians produce a commercial horilka also that includes St John's Wort (a plant).The Poles and Belarusians add the leaves of the local bison grass to produce Żubrówka or Zubrovka vodka, which has a slightly sweet flavor and a light amber color. In Ukraine and Russia, vodka flavored with honey and pepper (Pertsovka, in Russian, Pertsivka, in Ukrainian) is also very popular. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodka)

During the times of Peter the Czar, there was a custom: that each foreign ambassador at the courtyard should drink « the so called " Cup of the White Eagle" being » - one and a half litres of vodka. Foreigners were in shock and began to bring imposter ambassadors: one would drink, and the other would discuss important subjects.

What does it mean to drink "na pososhok"? This tradition is very old. Visitors who were coming from far away lands had a staff, or walking stick, known in russian as a "posoh", It had a hollowed out hole on top. A glass of vodka was usually placed in that hole. If the visitor was able to drink the vodka and not touch the glass with his hands, it meant, that his guest was still ok and could get home on his own without too much trouble. But if the glass should fall out, it's taken as an indication to put his friend up for the night.