A trend has been making its way around the blogosphere recently of spiking candy with vodka. It’s pretty easy to set up. First, get your favorite “gummie” style candy and put it in a bowl. Next, fill the bowl with vodka until all the candy is covered. Finally, let it sit covered in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, stirring a couple of times every day. When it’s done, the candy will be swollen with vodka.
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Wine Searcher posts interesting news that Russia is using satellites to monitor vodka production. The satellites take infrared photos that can be used to detect illegal vodka production at a rate of $500 per photo. In the effort to curb alcoholism, Russia has cut the number of legal vodka producers in half over the last year, but illegal production is still high. The legality of such methodology is questionable, according to Russian lawyers.
Austin, Texas is an oasis in more ways than one. Nestled on the Colorado River, large parts of Austin are covered in lush greenery in stark contrast to much of the outlying area dominated by desert conditions and underbrush. In a state that is predominantly conservative, the capital city is home to a surprisingly diverse political climate ranging from hippies in the park to students at the university to bankers in the city, and yet
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Diageo, owner of well-known brands like Ciroc, Smirnoff, and Ketel One, now owns 45.5% of Halico, a Vietnamese spirit company, owner of Bluebird vodka. It’s difficult to say what this means for Diageo, a behemoth in the spirits industry, unless they intend to eventually acquire Halico.
According to Market Watch, Shakers Vodka is auctioning everything. After filing for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, the Shakers brand along with all equipment is being sold. The auction conducted by Maas Companies Inc. of Rochester, Minnesota runs through June 26, 2012. You can apparently even bid online. If you want more information, check out the Shakers auction page.
We mentioned in a previous Friday Links that the Ukraine was banning swimming to prevent drownings during Euro 2012. That was probably for the best, as The Daily News reports, because fans are flocking to beer and vodka tours rather than sight seeing. Meanwhile, The Indian Express is reporting that Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk is asking Poles to treat Russian fans hospitably despite political tensions between the two countries. The Poles seem to have
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Russian Standard is one of the most successful private companies in Russian and produces what is arguably the most successful vodka brand in Russia. Central European Distribution Corp (CEDC) is one of the world’s largest vodka producers with several major Polish vodka brands in its portfolio. Recently, though, CEDC has had some hard times. After a bad estimate on trade rebates, stocks fell 28.5% as traders rushed to dump shares. CEDC is down 74% from
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The question has come up a few times recently in personal conversations: Isn’t gin really just flavored vodka? Gin is really a grain neutral spirit infused with various herbs. Vodka is simply a grain neutral spirit. Technically, yes, that makes gin a flavored vodka, but I would imagine ardent gin fans may disagree. Gin martini die hards won’t accept that a vodka martini counts as a martini, for example. Eric Asimov (no clue if he’s
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Kara Newman writing for Reuters points out that youth in Moscow are trending away from Russia’s “state drink”, favoring whisky and rum, but there is still a strong vodka culture. She found everything from Russian style vodka cocktails to molecular mixologists. She even found a bar with no menu that’s dubbed “a bar for bartenders” where drinks are made to order. While Moscow might want a small break from tradition, it’s still vodka that courses
Continue Reading Moscow’s Trending Tastes
Sourish Bhattacharyya, writing for India Today, shares his experience at a cocktail contest hosted by Belvedere. The cocktails they make aren’t your standard faire. The descriptions read like something out of Iron Chef with cocktails using gelatin and even applewood smoke to spice things up. Bhattacharyya calls these mixologists modern druids. If this is where bar tending is going, I might actually start drinking cocktails!