6/14/2022
It’s one of the strongest liquors on shelves -- and people think it will kill practically anything.
Made of premium ethyl alcohol of agricultural cereal origin, purified according to the newest technology. It is of very high clarity in regards to its chemical content, and is of a very gentle smell and taste. It’s made of raw materials grown and processed exclusively in Poland. It’s used among other things to prepare home-made fruit and herbal liqueurs, vodkas as well as cakes and for medical purposes.
The connection of this famous drink with Russia is already known worldwide. Although the origin of its history is controversial, its name is derived from water word in their dialect: voda.
Its first records date back to the Middle Ages. At that time, the potato was the raw material of the drink and by what was believed, it had medicinal properties of high efficacy.
In Russia, the drink became popular according to the spread of the belief that she attributed to it being extremely efficient against the low temperatures that bring with it a relentless cold.
This rule holds true even today, right? Haha!
Today, vodka is one of the most "aggressive" drinks on the subject of alcoholic content. On average, 37% of its original composition contains alcohol (in the most common brands)... However, certain Polish brands can reach impressive 96%, as is the case of Spirytus Rektyfikowany, which is considered the strongest distillate in the world. suffers double distillation of alcohol without the addition of water)!
Perth teen Nicole Bicknell died after drinking 95 per cent alcohol Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany at 18th birthday party
A teenager who died after her 18th birthday party had 18 shots on the night, played drinking games and consumed a potent Polish spirit before she went limp, an inquest has been told.
Nicole Emily Bicknell collapsed soon after she drank Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany, which has a 95 per cent alcohol content, at her birthday party in November 2014.
Deputy State Coroner Evelyn Vicker is investigating Ms Bicknell’s death in a bid to draw attention to the dangers of high-strength alcohol and drinking games, particularly for young adults.
Ms Bicknell invited about 45 family and friends to her home for a barbecue to celebrate the milestone birthday soon after she finished school.
Counsel assisting the coroner Aneta Sukoski said the teen drank a “large quantity of alcohol” on the night including vodka, Midori and the Polish spirit.
She said Ms Bicknell made comments to friends that she wanted to have 18 shots for her 18th birthday.
The inquest was told when she reached her 18th shot, her friends cheered and encouraged her.
Later in the night, Ms Bicknell drank Midori straight from the bottle as she played a drinking game with her brother and friends.
The Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany was brought to the table about 1.30am after the group appeared to run out of alcohol, Ms Sukoski said.
Ms Bicknell had a few mouthfuls of the spirit before becoming incoherent and limp in her chair.
Ms Sukoski said Ms Bicknell’s brother Steven and her boyfriend Jason Mark Roberts carried her to her bedroom and put her in bed.
Her boyfriend monitored her until he fell asleep and when he woke up at 5.30am the next day Ms Bicknell had blue lips and no pulse.
Ms Bicknell was pronounced dead in hospital and a post mortem revealed she had died from acute alcohol toxicity with early pneumonia and aspiration.
Giving evidence, Mr Roberts said he realised Ms Bicknell had too much to drink when she started mumbling and passing out or falling asleep between 30 minutes to one hour after drinking the polish spirit.
He said he kept an eye on her for a few hours after she was put to bed and woke up to see she had vomited.
“As I’m still waking up I notice that she’s cold,” Mr Roberts said.
“Then I notice that her lips are blue. So then I go to check her pulse and check her breathing, I can’t feel a thing.”
The pair had started dating a few months before Ms Bicknell’s 18th birthday and Mr Roberts described his girlfriend as a strong drinker.
He said in their circle of friends people were not expected to act responsibly on their 18th birthdays.
Ms Bicknell's brother said the drinking games at the party started after midnight when his mother had gone to bed.
He said guests played a game called waterfall, which involved Ms Bicknell skolling from a bottle of Midori while 9-10 people had shots one after another.
Mr Bicknell said he saw his sister take two gulps from the Polish spirit bottle after the waterfall game before spiralling "quite quickly".
"Her liveliness... went down hill," he said.
"She became quiet, more relaxed in the chair.
"We tried to give her some water but it just dribbled straight down."
Mr Bicknell told the inquest he never really saw his sister consume alcohol before the party and assumed she was a weak drinker.
Ms Bicknell’s family called for a ban on the sale of high-strength liquor in Australia after her death.
Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany is still available for purchase online from some independent Australian liquor retail websites.
The inquest is expected to run for three days.
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