The invention of the most famous Russian alcoholic drink is attributed to the most famous Russian chemist. We figure out if it is true.

In fact, there are even two stories about Mendeleev’s connection with the invention of vodka. According to the first of them, the chemist, in fact, came up with a recipe, calculating the optimal ratio of alcohol in a solution with water. The second version is the first modified first: Mendeleev not only decided that vodka should be not without 40-degree, but also proposed to legislatively consolidate this proportion. Allegedly, the chemist was part of the introduction of a “wine monopoly” - the exclusive law of the state or individuals for the production and trade of alcoholic beverages. Villam Pokhlebkin, author of the book, popularized the legend "History of vodka", historian and expert on Russian cooking. However, marketers actively picked up the idea - for example, on the label of the Russian Standard vodka it was indicated that it was created "according to the classic recipe for D. I. Mendeleev."

Pokhlebkin ascribes the invention of Vodka Mendeleev in connection with the dissertation of a chemist called "On the connection of alcohol with water":

By mid -1864, Mendeleev reaches his calculations of the specific gravity of alcohol solutions in water to 36 °. From vodka (optimal 40 °) it separates only 4 °, it is on the threshold of a new discovery, it penetrates the secrets of vodka, setting how much the qualities of water-synceter solutions change depending on the achievement of certain degrees, and by the end of November 1864, these conclusions are spilled into a dissertation.

However, in the text of the dissertation, nothing of the kind is said. IN Fourth chapter Mendeleev determined his work by compression occurring during mutual dissolution of waterless alcohol and water, and the concentration of 46 ° corresponded to the greatest compression. The author of the dissertation does not write about any connection with vodka and the fact that it must certainly be 40-degree. At the same time, Mendeleev gives “weight” interest, that is, by the weight of alcohol in the volume of water, and not by its volume, while the strength of the drink in the domestic sense is precisely the ratio of volumes.

The “promotion” of 40-degree vodka at the legislative level of Mendeleev, of course, was also not engaged in. The fortress “not lower than 40 °” was fixed by the regulations only four years later, the scientist himself refers to this decision статье «Винокурение» For the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary. Although Mendeleev participated in the discussion of the “Wine Monopoly” in 1894, his role in the discussion was very limited - the scientist was invited as an expert when it came to excise tax calculations.