Stoli is probably the most famous and favorable vodka brand in Russia. Consumers and bar staff prefer Stoli products since they use traditional methods with modern distillation technologies.
1. Smirnoff. Created by a Russian serf named Pytor Smirnov, the world's best-selling vodka has been sold since 1864. In 1886, Smirnov penned an exclusive contract to supply vodka to the Tsar of Russia.
But the most popular vodkas in the U.S. – including Smirnoff, Ciroc, Tito's, Absolut, Svedka, Grey Goose, SKYY and New Amsterdam – are not made in Russia. They are made in Sweden, France, the U.K. and the U.S.
Smirnoff has its roots in Russia. Its distillery was founded by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov in Moscow in 1864. But after the Russian Revolution the brand was sold and moved to the USA, as vodka production in the then Soviet Union was nationalised.
Is Absolut Vodka Russian? Absolut Vodka is a Swedish vodka, produced in the village of Åhus in southern Sweden, from Swedish winter wheat.
Since the early 2000s, Stoli Group, which manufactures Stolichnaya Vodka along with a variety of flavored spirits, has been based in Latvia. After its founding in the Soviet Union in 1938, the company's former CEO, Yuri Shefler, moved the firm out of Russia in 2000 as Putin was coming into power.
Nemiroff is a Ukrainian vodka brand, one of the world's largest producers of alcohol. The products are sold in more than 80 countries. The company is one of the top3 world leaders in supplying vodka to duty-free shops (Duty Free).
While Smirnoff had its beginnings in Russia, Vladimir Smirnoff fled the country during the Revolution and re-established the brand in Europe more than a century ago.
Discover why Top Shelf Distillers' craft vodka is the perfect cocktail base. Using our craft technology and 100% local ingredients, we've created an award-winning vodka. That's right - Top Shelf Vodka is a national vodka, owned and produced entirely in Canada.
Smirnoff was mistakenly targeted for boycotts during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine; however, despite its Russian origin, the brand is owned by British company Diageo and for the US market is manufactured in Illinois.
Shevkoff Vodka
Among the best Ukrainian vodkas, Shevkoff is one of the best vodkas to drink neat and enjoy in the style of a sophisticated Eastern European. Once again, it is hard to find, but if you see it, snag the bottle!
Scientists from the University of Portsmouth created "Atomik" vodka, a spirit made with exclusion zone grain and water, making it the first consumer product to come from the area around the abandoned nuclear power plant. Chernobyl is the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, which resulted in thousands of deaths.
The taste is as biting and distinct as ever. Our panel split over its merits; some found Stoli to be “less blunt” than Absolut, praised its “interesting attack” and “potency,” and noticed “hints of charcoal” in its flavor. (I found out later that Stoli is filtered through quartz, cloth, and Siberian birch charcoal.)
GREY GOOSE vodka is distilled in the gastronomy capital of the world, France, using the traditions of the Maître de Chai with only two ingredients – single-origin Picardie winter wheat and natural spring water.
While vodka is the country's largest export, Russia is also a relatively large producer of beer and wine – though much of this is consumed domestically. Russian beer makes up 1% of the global beer market. Over 99% of Russian beer is consumed domestically.
The distillery that produces Belvedere was constructed in 1910. Production began in 1993 at the facility located at Polmos Żyrardów, Poland.
Grey Goose is a brand of vodka produced in France. It was created in the 1990s by Sidney Frank, who sold it to Bacardi in 2004.
Dima's Vodka is a Ukrainian brand of vodka that uses a combination of three grains in the production of the beverage.
These were: Penderyn Distillery, Five Vodka, 43% ABV, 750 ml; 58 Distillery, 58 Distillery Vodka; William Grant & Sons, Reyka Vodka, 40% ABV, 750 ml; and Kamo, Original, Premium Vodka, 40% ABV, 750 ml.