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
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
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
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
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!
This weeks Friday Links include some follow up to our Five Wives post, Beam finalizing the purchase of the Pinnacle vodka brand, an odd cocktail (with a not-so-odd infusion you might also like), and Seattle’s new liquor laws. Five Wives Follow Up On our last report, Five Wives was contemplating a First Amendment law suit. Since then, Boise Weekly reports that the Idaho State Liquor Division would be willing to reconsider their decision through an
A writer for The Horn known as The Gentleman has posted his take on vodka in a piece called From Eastern Europe with Love. He hits the high points of vodka history and shares his favorite ways to drink vodka. Though not a fan of vodka, he suggests the Cape Cod, Madras, Martini, and Bloody Mary. Timely, though, is the fact that he is drinking a Luksusowa Cape Cod as we just posted our Luksusowa
Ultimat vodka commissioned a study to determine whether “Summer Friday” perks were still widely available. Back in the day, New York ad agencies found that productivity on Fridays during the summer dropped to near zero. Instead of kicking people in the pants about it, they started giving people the day off (or a half day off) on Friday during the summer, and found that morale was boosted as well as productivity the rest of the
There are plenty of great things about Sweden, but the one that interests us most is Absolut vodka. Absolut made a name for itself by creating unique art-driven ad campaigns, including creations by important figures like Andy Warhol. Recently, though, Spritmuseum in Sweden has installed a permanent exhibition including 70 pieces of Absolut’s art after the Swedish government handed over the goods. The VodkaBuzz readership is primarily US-centric, but if you ever get over to
This week’s Friday Links include the new definition of Polish Vodka, a swimming ban in the Ukraine, some news on flavored vodkas, and a lot more. Polish Vodka Defined A new Polish law will define what “Polish Vodka” is. The new definition of Polish Vodka is: an alcoholic beverage produced from grain or potatoes harvested in Poland. Good thing Ciroc chose France for it’s grape-based vodka. Russians to See Higher Vodka Prices An article at