Important Poland etiquette question: bite of the herring first, then a shot, or shot first, then a herring?

A friend asked the guests to bring an hors d'oeuvre reflecting one's culture. originally, as a joke I decided to bring herring and vodka, but once committed, I'm forging ahead. Home made marinated Matjes herring squares on toothpics, a bottle of Belvedere frozen in a block of ice... So here is the question: I'm sure I'm going to have to demonstrate the procedure, and I'm not sure what makes more sense: bite of the herring first, then a shot, or shot first, then a herring?

TYIA

Russians do the vodka first, pop a bit of herring in their mouths and let the vodka fumes roll over the herring. Takes a bit of practice though...

OK, vodka first.
I think I'm going to present it as "proceed at your own risk" kind of experience.
I could dare them, but then somebody might upchuck.

Should I get some black bread? Even though I have absolutely no control when it comes to herring, and vodka is my drink of choice, I feel something is missing. Maybe something sour at the end would make it a less farrowing of an experience for the uninitiated?

The language is self-explanatory. The Polish bite-down is called a zakąska or (more crudely) zagrycha. It comprises the prefix za (after, beyond, behind) and derivatives of the verbs kąsać and gryźć (to bite). So the nip comes first and is followed by the bite-down. Na zdrowie or Chluśniem bo uśniem!!

I'm afraid she wants to know what do Polish do not Russians...

The Polish (as I'm sure you know) almost always do fruit juice in a separate glass. Almost nobody nowadays except old men and Russians do that thing with the herring, fun though it is. However the lady did ask about the hearing, a strong Russian tradition. There are a few possibilities other than herring, by the way.


Probably - it isn't for the uninitiated and the technique is quite specific. The black bread isn't very authentic though.

What technique are you talking about, Jon? I'm not picturing the rolling fumes. ;) Can you be more specific?

As far as bread goes, I don't have too many choices, it's either that or rye bread.

Here you are:


barnesandnoble/review/holiday-spirits/

Enjoy!

Love it. Thanks! Wait... What kind of animal noises??

A snoring labradoodle...

A wheezing geezer.


That might be ok if you were drinking plonk vodka. What if you enjoy the taste of the vodka you are consuming? Takes away from the sensory pleasures on the taste buds.

For the sake of the argument, let's just assume there are not that many people that drink straight vodka for its taste.
Getting ready for the party. As far as the animal noises, I'll have to skip that part. Not enough information. ;)

Thanks all, it was a huge hit! I didn't even bother with the bread. All my herring is gone, along with a bottle of vodka. Now, everybody knows to bite the herring before taking a breath. It was a fancy company, though, 16th century Italian art on the walls and all.. next time I'll do caviar instead of herring.

Last night, we were eating a smoked sturgeon that someone had given to a friend. One of the three of us is from the former Soviet Union and did the vodka and fish the Russian way. He complained that the vodka (czysty Krupnik) didn't taste nice. The other person (who is Polish) said half indignantly and half laughing that you aren't supposed to actually taste the vodka!

The sturgeon by the way was delicious albeit scary looking.

Here it is by the way

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Tell no more...

Shot first and then herring or other zakąska (bite-down, morsel, snack). The traditional Polish way is not just to drink but the bite down each round. That greatly incresases the imbiber's staying power, unlike mean and miserly Brits who just drink for a quick, cheap high.

You have obviously never been in a British pub. Brits are not miserly and are happy to shout the round (look it up on your iPhone....)

And why bother with food? The wife prepares that. Unlike Poland, we have quality drink Polonius.

It's called a whisky chaser ( for me preferably a Scotch or three, such as Glenlivet) followed by 6 or 7 pints of hoppy 3.8% ale.

Poles have no clue on how to distill something that doesn't require an induced taste by being half frozen in the fridge, or how to brew a proper cask conditioned beer, so they are left with the necessity to nibble something, to chew at some age old inedible creature to nullify the lack of satisfying and calorie giving alcohol ( in the Poles' case by eating long dead and very disgusting tasting smelly fish - that historically even the poorest of Brits would only eat in times of famine, and even then I would gladly starve)

Here to help as always.


That I can identify with :( Though my hound is minus the doodle. And he eats anything at all, even fish, but not herring, Polish style, cause he has some taste.

You cna have it! Glenviet, Chivas Regal, White Horse, Johnny Walker Red and Black as well as all other Scotches have a krople żołądkowe (Polish stomach drops) aftertaste. There's nothing like cognac or a good, albeit less pricey French brandy.

You've mixed malt and grain whiskies here. They are very different drinks and each one has its own taste. White Horse and JW red are very much at the lower end of the market, while Chivas and Glenlivet are far superior whiskies. I stopped drinking any hard stuff many years ago, so I'm no expert, but one of my favourites was Laphroig, which tastes of earth and peatsmoke. I accept that some people might like the taste of neat vodka, but Scotch whisky is made to be savoured rather than knocked back as though to get rid of it asap.

hmm interesting but I'd rather stay away from eating or drinking the earth :P and well Polish potato vodka did taste good in the past - I am not a fan of drinking it ice cold - but I actually don't drink it often

Perhaps a common sewer, er, um, I mean connoissuer could tell the difference, but
to me they've all got that tell-tale medicinal aftertaste. Sorry!

I had to look this up again.
Vodka first, herring next. No breath inbetween. ;)
Na zdrowie!