Whip out the plastic plug, also using teeth. Pause to pronounce a toast saying farewell to sobriety, which the drinker may not see again for days and days, possibly weeks. The vodka hits the bottom of the stomach. To anyone who is not familiar with the experience, the sensations that follow are difficult to describe. Internal contacts are made - instantaneously.
Blood surges - tidally.
Soul and body are fused, blasted together, radically reorganized. Time starts to come at the drinker in big shuddering gulps. Automatically, he reaches out for zakuski from the table - powerful pickled cucumber or garlic, a wad of brown bread, anything to gag the mouth and distract attention from the terrible nuclear changes that are occurring inside. The zakuski help. Gradually, time steadies to a trot.