Alcohol and alcoholic beverages became an essential part of Slavonic culture a long time ago. The names of some traditional drinks often become a stereotypical national symbol of a certain country. Lexicological units (single words and expressions, idioms, proverbs and sayings) which constitute the ideographic group “The culture of drinking” can be found at every functional and stylistic level of the language. This article provides an overview of the “alcoholic portrait” of the Ukrainians. Particular attention is paid to the concept of горілкa (horilka). A special place is given to the descriptions of alcoholic drinks in Ukrainian – in colloquial speech, slang, dialects as well as in phraseology.