The 1891 Treaty of Madrid was the first bilateral agreement to recognise France’s sole right to use the word Champagne. Since then, a slew of other rulings have followed, cementing that agreement in pretty much every market in the world. That’s why these days, when you think of Champagne, you think of France. What this is getting at is that in 1977, when Poland tried to claim the sole production rights of its national drink Wodka, it wasn’t such a crazy idea. Certainly not as crazy as Cadbury trying to trademark the colour purple. Sadly for them, the superpower formally known as the USSR saw it differently, successfully contesting and defeating Poland in an international court. Naturally, poor Poland has been griping about it ever since. (That and everything else, seriously, what’s with Polish people and griping?)
All racial stereotypes aside, what if that ruling was wrong? What if the Poles was robbed?
Always willing to ask the big questions and rake muck however deep and far flung it may be, VBS correspondent Ivar set off on a global investigation to answer the question: which country invented vodka? What may have seemed like a trivial pursuit yeilded a complex story of political intrigue, national identity, and quirky historical factoids. Watch it right here. It'll change the way you think about your Vodka Cruisers.
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