Rissian Drinks: Traditional Russian Drinks & Cocktails

"Rissian" is a widespread misspelling of "Russian", and that's the sense we use here: this is a guide to what people in Russia actually drink, plus the Western cocktails that borrowed the name. Many of the most traditional drinks are non-alcoholic — tea is drunk far more often than anything else — so we start there before moving on to vodka and cocktails. Each drink is given in Cyrillic, with a transliteration and the stressed syllable in capitals.

Traditional Non-Alcoholic Russian Drinks

Tea — чай (chai) and the samovar

Tea is the everyday drink of Russia. It reached Russia from China in the 17th century and, carried overland by caravan, became a national habit over the following centuries, first among the wealthy and later across society. The traditional way to serve it uses two parts: a small teapot of very strong brewed tea, the zavarka (заварка, za-VAR-ka), which is diluted in each cup with hot water. The hot water historically came from a samovar (самовар, sa-ma-VAR), a metal urn that keeps water hot; the town of Tula became famous for making them. Tea is served with lemon, sugar, honey or varenye (fruit preserves), and in the past was often drunk from a glass set in a decorative metal holder, the podstakannik (подстаканник). For more, read our article on the Russian tea tradition.

Kvass — квас (kvas)

Kvass is a traditional fermented drink usually made from dark rye bread or rye malt, water and sugar, sometimes flavoured with raisins, mint or fruit. It tastes slightly sweet and sour, a little like a light, malty, unhopped beer, and it is lightly fizzy. Traditional kvass contains only a small amount of alcohol from fermentation (commonly around 1% or less), and many commercial versions are sold as soft drinks. In Soviet times, kvass was sold in summer from yellow street tanker barrels. It is also the base of the cold summer soup okroshka — see Rissian food.

Mors — морс (mors)

Mors is a refreshing berry drink made by pressing juice from berries — classically cranberries or lingonberries — then diluting it with water and sweetening it with sugar or honey. It is not fermented. It is served cold in summer and is a staple on café menus and in home kitchens.

Kompot — компот (kam-POT)

Kompot is a sweet drink made by simmering fresh or dried fruit and berries (apples, cherries, plums, currants, dried apricots, raisins) in water with sugar, then cooling it. It's a home-made family drink, served with lunch, and fondly remembered by anyone who grew up with Russian school canteens. Unlike mors, the fruit is cooked in the water rather than juiced.

Sbiten — сбитень (SBEE-tyen')

Sbiten is a hot winter drink of honey, water and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger and bay leaf. It is one of the oldest Russian drinks and was widely sold by street vendors at winter fairs before tea became common. Today it is mainly a revival and festival drink, especially around Maslenitsa and winter holidays. Most versions are non-alcoholic.

Kissel — кисель (kee-SYEL')

Kissel is a thickened fruit or berry drink, made with potato starch so that it ranges from pourable to spoonable. It is sweet, served warm or cold, and often given to children.

Birch sap — берёзовый сок (bye-RYO-za-vy sok)

In early spring, the sap of birch trees is collected and drunk fresh or bottled. It is only faintly sweet and very light.

Kefir, ryazhenka and other fermented milks

Kefir (кефир, kye-FEER) is a tangy fermented milk drink made with kefir grains, a culture of bacteria and yeasts that originated in the North Caucasus. It is widely drunk across Russia, often in the evening, and is also used in baking and in okroshka. Ryazhenka (ряженка, RYA-zhen-ka) is made from baked milk that is then fermented, giving it a light caramel colour and a mild, creamy taste. Prostokvasha (простокваша) is simple soured milk. Health note: fermented dairy is a normal part of many diets, but this is general information, not medical advice.

Soviet-era soft drinks

Russia also has its own nostalgic sodas: Tarkhun (тархун), a bright-green tarragon soda originally from Georgia, and Baikal (Байкал), a dark herbal cola-style drink. Both are still made and are popular with visitors.

Rissian Spirit: Vodka and Other Alcoholic Drinks

Vodka — водка (VOD-ka): the Russian spirit

If you searched for "Rissian spirit", you are most likely looking for vodka, the spirit most associated with Russia. The word is a diminutive of вода (voda, "water"), so it literally means something like "little water". Vodka is a clear distilled spirit made from grain (usually wheat or rye) or sometimes potatoes, filtered and diluted to a standard strength of around 40% alcohol by volume. Both Russia and Poland have long vodka traditions, and the exact origins are disputed; vodka has been produced in the region since at least the late Middle Ages.

A popular story claims that the chemist Dmitri Mendeleev set the "ideal" 40% strength. This is often repeated, but historians have found little support for it in his actual work.

How vodka is traditionally drunk in Russia

• Chilled and neat: vodka is served very cold, in small glasses (ryumki), not mixed.
• Always with food: each shot is followed by a bite of zakuska — a pickle, a piece of herring, rye bread, salo or a spoon of salad.
• With toasts: drinks are taken together after a toast. A common toast is За здоровье! (Za zda-RO-vye, "To health!"). Note that Na zdorovye (На здоровье), often quoted in Western films as a Russian toast, is actually what Russians say in reply to "thank you" for food — it means roughly "you're welcome / enjoy". (The Polish toast Na zdrowie is similar-sounding, which is where the confusion comes from.)

What does "spirt" mean in Russian?

In Russian, спирт (spirt) does not mean spirits in general; it means rectified alcohol (ethanol), typically around 96%. It is used in medicine, laboratories and industry and is not a drink: consuming concentrated or non-beverage alcohol is dangerous.

Nastoyka and nalivka

Nastoyka (настойка, nas-TOY-ka) is vodka infused with herbs, berries, peppers or other flavourings; horseradish (khrenovukha) and pepper (pertsovka) versions are well known. Nalivka (наливка) is a sweeter, lower-strength fruit liqueur. Both are traditionally made at home.

Medovukha — медовуха (mye-da-VOO-kha)

Medovukha is a honey-based fermented drink, a relative of mead. Historically, honey drinks (myod) were among the main alcoholic drinks of early Rus'. Today medovukha is usually lightly alcoholic and is closely associated with the historic town of Suzdal, where it is a popular souvenir.

Beer, wine and other drinks

Beer is now one of the most commonly drunk alcoholic beverages in Russia. Sparkling wine (often still called shampanskoye) is the traditional New Year's Eve drink, and brandy (konyak) from the Caucasus region is popular. Wines from Georgia have long been favourites on Russian tables.

Cocktails with "Russian" Names (That Aren't Russian)

Several famous cocktails carry Russian names because they are built on vodka, but none of them was invented in Russia:

White Russian

Vodka, coffee liqueur and cream over ice. It developed from the Black Russian and appears in print in 1965 in California; it was made famous by The Big Lebowski (1998). See our White Rissian hub, what is a White Rissian and the White Rissian recipe.

Black Russian

Vodka and coffee liqueur over ice, no cream. Generally credited to Belgian bartender Gustave Tops at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in 1949.

Moscow Mule

Vodka, ginger beer and lime, served in a copper mug. It was created in the United States in the early 1940s, largely as a way to promote vodka and ginger beer to American drinkers, and the copper mug became its signature.

Others

The Russian Spring Punch (vodka, lemon, cassis and sparkling wine) is a London bar creation of the 1980s, and the Espresso Martini (vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso) is another modern Western coffee-and-vodka cocktail.

Which Russian Drink Should You Try?

• First time, no alcohol: kvass (for something unusual) or cranberry mors (for something easy to like).
• In winter: sbiten or a glass of strong black tea with lemon and jam.
• With a meal: kompot or mors at lunch; chilled vodka with zakuski at a celebration.
• For a cocktail night: a White Russian or Moscow Mule — just remember they're Western inventions.

Drink Responsibly

Alcoholic drinks described on this page are for adults of legal drinking age only. Vodka is strong (around 40% ABV), and traditional drinking customs involving repeated toasts can add up quickly. Eat while you drink, alternate with water or a soft drink, never drink and drive, and avoid alcohol if you are pregnant, taking medication that interacts with it, or have been advised not to drink. This page is general information, not medical advice. The non-alcoholic drinks above — tea, mors, kompot, kvass and sbiten — are just as much a part of Russian culture.

Rissian Drinks FAQ