To test the hypothesis of beverage-specific effect in Russia on the incidence rate of alcoholic psychoses (a known indicator of a population's alcohol-related problems). Time series analytical modeling techniques (ARIMA) were used to examine the relation between the sales of different alcoholic beverages (vodka, wine, beer) and alcoholic psychoses incidence rate between 1970 and 2013. The analysis suggests that of the three beverages vodka alone was associated with alcoholic psychoses incidence rate. The estimated effect of vodka sales on the alcohol psychoses rate is statistically significant: a 1 l per person per year increase in vodka sales would result in a 23.4% increase in the alcoholic psychoses incidence rate. The incidence of alcoholic psychoses is more responsive to changes in vodka sales per capita than wine or beer sales.