Drinking Culture

In Poznań and its surroundings, vodka is traditionally drunk ice-cold and neat from small glasses called kieliszki. It's never sipped in large gulps, but downed in a single short shot. Between rounds, something hearty is eaten, often a pickle or bread with bacon, to settle the stomach.

Before drinking, glasses are raised, usually with a brief "na zdrowie," to your health. Sometimes the longer drinking song "sto lat," a hundred years, follows, actually meant for birthdays but also heard at weddings and other celebrations. When raising the glass, people look each other in the eye.

Leaving a poured glass untouched is considered rude toward the host, who usually refills it to the brim themselves. In the countryside, where the manor distilleries once stood, a glass of vodka traditionally belonged to the harvest festival, the dożynki, with which farmers celebrated the end of the potato and grain harvest.

In Poznań itself, vodka tends to accompany socializing rather than be its centerpiece. At the St. Martin's market in November, the Jarmark Świętomarciński, the city's sweet croissants take center stage. Vodka circulates on the sidelines of the festivities in small rounds, usually alongside food rather than before it.

More important than quantity is the rule that no one drinks alone and every round begins together. Turning down a glass without good reason raises eyebrows faster than having one too many. At the table, though, it must stay clear who still needs to drive the next day.