Alcohol belts of Europe

Alcohol preferences in Europe vary from country to country between beer, wine or spirits. These preferences are traditionally associated with certain regions. Hence, the Central European pattern of alcohol consumption is associated with beer-drinking, the Mediterranean pattern with wine-drinking and the Eastern or Northern European pattern with spirit-drinking countries. However, traditional preferences do not necessarily correspond to current drinking habits, as beer has become the most popular alcoholic drink world-wide.

Countries preferring spirits

The following countries, known as the vodka belt, are significant producers and consumers of spirits, particularly vodka:
*Sweden
*Norway
*Iceland
*Finland
*Estonia
*Latvia
*Lithuania
*Russia
*Belarus
*Ukraine
*Poland"Krakow Beverages"
at krakow-info.com (preferring beer as well)
*Slovakia (preferring beer as well)

The southern boundary of this region corresponds to the −2 °C (28°F) January isotherm in lowlands. With the exception of Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, and some regions of southern Russia, cultivation of grapes is impossible or very difficult. EU-countries preferring vodka produce over 70% of the EU's vodka.

Vodka preference is sometimes associated exclusively with the Slavic countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as they are the historical homeland of vodka (Poland and Russia being the nations most often associated with the invention of the drink). Before the 19th century, vodka was considered very much a "people's drink" that was common among the peasantry who made up the majority of the population in most countries of the time, while the aristocracy preferred imported wines or other alcoholic drinks that were considered less plebeian. There are exceptions, such as Żubrówka, a type of Polish vodka that dates back to the 16th century, which became popular among the szlachta (nobility) as well as the peasantry as early as the 18th century.

In his book about the Soviet Union,Alex de Jonge, "Stalin and the Shaping of the Soviet Union", Collins, (1986), ,
the relevant excerpt online
'' Alex de Jonge elaborates on his concept of "geoalcoholics". In particular, he explains Russian peculiarities by their belonging to the vodka belt and the absence of the beer belt in the Soviet Union. Other than the prevalent hard liquor, the vodka belt is also characterised by a higher occurrence of binge drinking compared to the rest of Europe. Likewise, in his ''Russia and the Russians'', historian Geoffrey Hoskins notes the distinct effect vodka culture has had on the countries of the former Russian Empire, creating drinking as a social problem on a different level from other European countries.

In many countries traditionally preferring vodka, it has been supplanted by beer as the alcoholic drink of choice since the early 21st century. Residents of Finland and Sweden consume twice as much beer as vodka (in terms of pure alcohol). The Polish Beer-Lovers' Party (which won 16 seats in the Sejm in 1991) was founded on the notion of fighting alcoholism by a cultural abandonment of vodka for beer. And indeed in 1998, beer surpassed vodka as the most popular alcoholic drink in Poland.

The term has received much attention since 2006 in the context of the "vodka war

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