Krambambula (drink) Krambambula (drink) Krambambula is an alcoholic mix drink or cocktail that typically consists of red wine and various kinds of liquor, including gin, vodka, or rum. There are many different recipes. Commercially produced versions may also be available in some areas. In recent years, a Krambambula (Крамбамбуля) vodka drink flavoured with honey and spices similar to mead has been commercially popularized as the national drink of Belarus. The name was also adopted by Krambambula, a Belarusian folk rock band. The name is probably derived from the Old High German word "Kranawitu" or "chranawita" ("croaker timber," another name for juniper) and
Mead in Poland Polish poet praised the "nutritious and healthy" mead of Ruthenia (then part of Poland, now in western Ukraine) as a "nectar" worthy of Olympian gods, as opposed to wine. Notwithstanding the popular notion that mead used to be the everyday drink in Poland, it has always been a luxury good, reserved for special occasions, such as weddings, and available only to the affluent, while beer was the daily thirst quencher of the common people. Mead was valuable enough to be deemed a suitable gift for monasteries and dignitaries. The oldest known recipe for mead was recorded in 1567 by the