Borsh Vodka and Tears

Photo: Courtesy of my247

Speaking of vodka brings back memories of a dinner party at a friend’s house, where I unwisely bought a bottle of Absolut Mandarin Vodka. We opened the bottle and the aroma of sweet mandarins escaped deceivingly. A few of us, brave after a few drinks, decided to have a shot of this clear seemingly delectable liquid. Before I knew it, it was burning down my throat and then my insides. Oh boy, never again, until now. ..

From work, I befriended two lovely but crazy Russian and Polish ladies… no names will be revealed. Of course vodka originates from these countries mainly so I hear them talk about vodka vodka vodka a lot. Particular, they talk a lot about this bar / restaurant called Borsh Vodka and Tears. You might say that this is my impending downfall but actually the result is that I have two bottles of half drank vodkas in my cupboard :P

What a romantic vodka bar, it is. Serving modern polish cuisine, with yellowish dimly lit décor… I felt somewhat drunk already when I arrived. I think I prefer sitting outside under the sudden warmth of the heaters. This place is crowded but surprisingly you can book a table even for drinks. Best to do it two weeks in advance if you want to have a table on Thursdays to Sundays. I mean that very much as we have missed out on a few occasions and had to settle for drinking vodka at home… hence my bottles.

Photo: Courtesy of Melbourne Pubs

I recommend the vodka tasting menu offering three 15ml shots of vodkas of your choice, served in delicate little vodka glasses. The vodka liqueurs are the easiest to drink. I am told that the clear vodkas must be chilled; the rest can be drunk at either room temperature or slightly chilled. For me, I prefer room temperature… where the taste is less crisp and sharp.. and the flavours tend to linger in your mouth and throat.

There is a special way of drinking vodka as well. You must breathe out first, drink the vodka while breathing in and then breathe out again to avoid swallowing and tasting the alcohol fumes.

Out of the 100 European vodkas, our favourites are the Polish Sour Cherry Vodka and the Romantic Rose flavoured Vodka.

Now that I’ve told you the technique, I hope you will become a Vodka enthusiast as well.


Borsh Vodka & Tears
173 Chapel Street
Prahran
03 9530 2694