Russian Standard Takes Shots at Stolichnaya
Wednesday April 12, 2006
So what's true Russian vodka? Not Stolichnaya, says Roustam Tariko, the man behind "Russian Standard" vodka. Are Americans being mislead with Stolichnaya's logo, "Genuine Russian Vodka" because it's produced in Latvia? They are! says Tariko. But of course, Tariko has his motives--his "Imperial" vodka (the Russian Standard brand recently launched in the States) has yet to gain the far-reaching brand awareness appreciated by Stolichnaya, and it's time he cut a brutal swathe out of the side of Stolichnaya's holdings. The impassioned Vodka Wars continue!
And what's the best way to watch the sparring match from the sidelines? With a chilly glass of Chopin Polish vodka, of course!
Comments
I actually advocate for a boycott of Russian vodka’s because the inventors of vodka were the Poles. Wikipedia states “The first written record of vodka in Poland dates from 1405 in the Sandomierz Court Registry,” while “In Russia, the first written usage of the word vodka in an official document in its modern meaning is dated by the decree of Empress Catherine I of June 8, 1751 that regulated the ownership of vodka distilleries.”
I’d much rather take up a bottle of Belvedere, or Wyborowa over any russian bottle, because the Poles had a few hundred years of experience under their belts before the Russians. To that I say “na zdrowie!”
I presently live in Russia (I am American) I drink the vodka here because it is so cheap compared to whisky. I thoroughly enjoy the Russian Standard and that is what I bring home for friends. I won’t drink Grey Goose (French) but I do drink the Polish vodka Belvedere and Chopin. I would like to see Russian Standard do well in the US simply because of the fantastic people I have met here. 50 years of cold war..what a waste.
If one follows the logic of the first post we all need to boycott Grey Goose (French, Absolute(Finnish), Svedka(Swedish) and other vodkas because Poles not French, or Finns or Swedes invented it. We also need to Boycott Japanese cars, and most Chinese manufactured goods (I like the this idea
)I think lots of Poles suffer from the inferiority complex that’s why the rabid antirussian rhetorics. It looks like Toy Terrier barking at an Elephant
I like both: The Stolichnaya and the russian standard.
Both are very good Vodkas!