Russia works to shake off bootleg vodka hangover Bootleg alcohol, a cheaper alternative to store-bought spirits, accounts for many deaths in Russia every year and is coming under growing scrutiny in a country with one of the highest liquor consumption rates in the world. This week at least 71 people died in the Siberian city of Irkutsk after drinking bath essence containing toxic methanol in a bid to get merry on the cheap. A voiced AFPTV report