EUROPE:It was Poland's last stand in what had become known as Europe's "vodka war".
After years of bitter wrangling over what truly deserved to be called vodka, it was time for emergency tactics. The Poles decided that free shots of their country's popular tipple, handed out to lines of enthusiastic MEPs, staffers and assorted liggers in a foyer of the European Parliament, would help sway opinions the night before the crucial vote.
It was the culmination of a campaign that had seen Poland cast itself as arch purist, defending a grand tradition from philistine upstarts.
Along with Finland, Sweden and the Baltic states, it had lobbied hard for a more restrictive definition of vodka, calling for it to apply only to those spirits that have been distilled from potatoes or grains. Anything else, they sniffed, was just a poor imitation and should be labelled as such.
The squabble dates back to December 2005, when the European Commission proposed legislating for the EU spirits market. It Considered dividing vodka into several categories based on ingredients and also floated the idea of a labelling scheme for all vodka bottles.
A British-led group argued that the original legislation - drafted almost 20 years earlier and allowing a variety of raw materials, including grapes, sugar beet and even citrus fruit - should be retained. They claimed those calling for tighter definitions were protectionist and wanted to corner the lucrative vodka market.
To most drinkers it might seem little more than a storm in a shot glass, but for those countries with a stake in the multi-billion euro industry it was serious.
If the so-called "vodka belt" nations succeed, several major drinks companies would be affected, among them Diageo. The firm is the world's biggest spirits producer, whose premium Ciroc brand is labelled as vodka distilled exclusively from French grape skins.
Britain's Gin and Vodka Association warned that most supermarket own-label vodka would be labelled "pure white spirit" if the Poles and their allies got their way.
Reminiscent of the decades Belgium and Britain spent arguing over what type of fat should be allowed in the production of chocolate, passions ran high over the vodka issue and the ensuing debate was more colourful than those normally heard in Strasbourg's venerable chamber.
MEPs from the traditional vodka producing countries emphasised the need for quality control and said they knew what they were talking about, pointing out that they account for some 70 per cent of production and 65 per cent of consumption in the EU.
"This is a battle of the vodka belt against the wine belt, and in between lies the beer belt, which will get to decide," Finnish Socialist MEP Lasse Lehtinen complained. Others said it was a matter of tradition and national pride. "We have made vodka out of potato and grain for over 500 years. When we became EU members in 1995 we were told that vodka would have a tight definition, just like rum, just like whisky, just like grappa. We don't want vodka to be some kind of alcoholic wastebasket," fumed Finnish representative Alexander Stubb.
On the other side, pressure groups said the restrictions could not be justified either on grounds of tradition or consumer protection. Earlier this year Britain warned that limiting the range of raw materials that could be used to make vodka would hinder innovation in the industry, and added that such restrictions could also pitch the commission into another battle at the World Trade Organisation.
In the end, the European Parliament voted down the bid to tighten the legal definition of vodka. Vodka made from anything other than potatoes or grain will have to say so on the label, the Parliament decided, but no minimum size for the declaration will be required.
The European Vodka Alliance, which has been lobbying against the stricter definition, welcomed the vote.