Old Russian Vodka announces the Czar’s Bar Party Moskow Diskow at The Mark Ultralounge in Atlanta, this Friday, February 22, 2008.
To request an invite, e-mail us at moskowdiskow@1147vodka.com.
For further details, visit our Facebook page.
Na Zdorovye!
From English Russia, a compendium of the sights and sounds of contemporary Russia.
“Vodka. I knew it would play prominently in my social and work environment in Russia, but little did I know how quickly it would thrust itself into my existence.”
An American in Moscow’s first experience drinking vodka with Russians.
A Russian Orthodox church in the muted sunlight of a Moscow afternoon.
This, and other glories, from the blog of Eileen, “From Russia With Love”. Beautiful site, Eileen!
“My path yesterday took me into a beautiful White Birch forest. It was peaceful and the breeze whispered through the leaves.
“The Russians drink the sap from the Birch at certain times of the year. You can find the sap being sold along the byways. The trees also produce a fruit and these fruit have been once used as the major food of the Incas. I have never had the sap yet but my Wife says that it is delicious.”
Posted by Kyle Keeton on Windows to Russia.
In August 2003, Ukrainian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space. He married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles over New Zealand aboard the International Space Station.
Last New Year’s Eve, Malenchenko, again on the ISS, became the first person to drink vodka in space. Video here, as he is interviewed by Ukrainian television and wishes “Na Zdorovye” to viewers:
Many people are telling us that White Birch or Old Russian have become their vodka brand of choice. But what happens when you have some of your old brand left over? Do you drink it up, even though it’s not as good? We hope not; life is too short, the occasions to imbibe too few, to drink anything less than the best, every time! Here are some suggestions for ways to productively use up your old stocks of vodka:
1. To remove a bandage painlessly, saturate the bandage with vodka. The solvent dissolves adhesive.
2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.
3. To clean your eyeglasses, simply wipe the lenses with a soft, clean cloth dampened with vodka. The alcohol in the vodka cleans the glass and kills germs.
4. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.
5. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.
6. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.
7. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle and spray bees or wasps to kill them.
8. Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water in a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshable ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.
9. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.
10. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.
11. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.
12. Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.
13. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the oil from your skin.
14. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.
15. Out of wiper fluid for your car? In a pinch, add a little vodka. It will clean the windshield, and it will not freeze. (The Russians do this with the domestic version of a certain brand of vodka that is quite popular in the West.) (Hat tip: Jim Rentas.)
If you are a people person, with poise and enthusiasm, and would like to represent our vodka at parties and promotions, White Birch Vodka is looking for you! Please contact us at whitebirchgirls@1147vodka.com. While experience as a cocktail waitress or working around closely packed, boisterous crowds is preferred, it is not a must. If you are an attractive young lady, at least 21 years of age, who has an upbeat attitude and has a desire to be part of a fun team, we are looking for you. Generous hourly rates and extras included. You will also have the opportunity to be featured as a member of the “White Birch Girls” on our website and at promotions around town. Come be part of a fun team!
Above: Julia, a member of the Russian White Birch Girls. White Birch is the fastest growing vodka brand in Russia.
More at White Birch Girls and White Birch Vodka on Facebook.
On the anniversary of his birth, we salute Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” Amen.
I’m a collector of miniature vodka bottles. I live in New Jersey, and I am trying to find Old Russian and White Birch vodkas in 50 ml miniature sizes. If anyone is in a state where these vodkas are sold, and can help me obtain them, please send me an e-mail at seva@ureach.com. Also, my website is http://www.geocities.com/sevatr2001/HomePage.htmlThanks very much.Sincerely,Seva T.
The federal agency which regulates alcohol in the U.S. has proposed that all containers of alcohol above a certain size feature an “Alcohol Facts” label like the above. The label would require information concerning serving size, total number of servings, alcohol content by volume, and alcohol per serving. In addition, there would have to be information about the total calories, carbohydrates, fat, and protein per serving — much like the label currently required for non-alcoholic food and beverages.
What do you think? Should the government compel liquor makers to present this information? Is the information necessary? Is the cost of doing this (which will lead to increased drink prices) worth it for the sake of the relatively few people in America who don’t know that alcohol has calories and can be intoxicating? Would you appreciate seeing this on your bottle of vodka? These are not rhetorical questions — we really want to know how you feel.
If you’d rather tell your Government your views on this matter, you can do so here before January 27, 2008. (Submit your comments by clicking on the “Add Comments” icon on the line for the main document which was posted 07/31/2007.)
Hitler tried it, and lost — just as Napoleon had over a century before. Don’t try to invade Russia by land. If the Russian army doesn’t outwit you, the Russian winter will — and, incidentally, no amount of vodka will help. In what has been called the “best statistical graphic ever drawn,” you can see here, in a single image, six different aspects of Napoleon’s disastrous Russian campaign of 1812: course, direction of travel, number of soldiers, geography, time, and temperature. As the Strange Maps blogger writes:
Pause a moment to ponder the horrific human cost represented by this map: Napoleon entered Russia with 442.000 men, took Moscow with only 100.000 men left, wandered around its abandoned ruins for some time and escaped the East’s wintry clutches with barely 10.000 shivering soldiers. Those include 6.000 rejoining the ‘bulk’ of the army from up north. Napoleon never recovered from this blow, and would be decisively beaten at Waterloo under two years later.
How a bottle of “vodka” reconciled a Vermont college student and her conservative Christian family to her coming of (drinking) age. “I’m still six months away, but alcohol has come out of the closet and evolved from something taboo into something my parents and I can joke and talk about. And that is almost as cool as being legal. Almost.”
An image from the collection of Russian book covers in the New York Public Library:
Русская Крестьянска Игрушка (A Russian Peasant Toy)
(Hat tip: Bad Banana.)
It’s OK to include vodka.
Morning commute, parkour style.
Recent report that Sweden — as in “Absolut Country of Sweden” – will auction off the parent company of Absolut Vodka in 2009:
The sale of the company could fill the state’s coffers with the equivalent of about five billion euros. The government confirmed that talks have already begun with several potential buyers and have set two conditions: the group of Vin & Spirit companies must be sold together, and Absolut Vodka must continue to be produced in Swedish territory.
Among the possible buyers? Diageo, owner of the Smirnoff brand. Should make for some interesting antitrust issues. (Not to mention shelf-space scuffles!)
Diageo CFO Nick Rose isn’t having any of it, though:
Rose said that Diageo was confident it could overcome regulatory obstacles it would face to buying Absolut because of the company’s ownership of Smirnoff, the world’s best-selling vodka brand.
«We do see ways in which we could own the brand,» said Rose. «I’m not saying that there are not one or two markets where it’s quite difficult and we would have to do something structurally,» he said.
The perfect 007 James Bond martini?
American Bartender Schools show you how to prepare the perfect Vodka Martini cocktail. (Smirnoff’s is a vodka we like and respect, but we think the perfect vodka martini is made with Old Russian, of course.)
From Russia, a meditation on friendship and vodka.
“By all means, take your friends to parties. Just don’t let parties take your friends. Be good. Drink milk. And think of Russia.” More here.
January 4, 2008 — White Birch will be a prime sponsor of the 2008 Atlanta Women’s Expo, to be held March 1-2, at the Gwinnett Center. There will be three thousand attendees and 199 other exhibitors. Plans are underway for the vodka to be poured to some or all of them. Mark your calendar!
January 3, 2008 — White Birch will be sponsoring the “Winter White” party at Bazzaar Lounge, in Atlanta, in late February. Stay tuned for more details.
January 3, 2008 — We are in discussions with two distributors in Tennessee covering Nashville and Knoxville and half the state.
Here’s a recap of some news you might have missed during the years 1147 to 2007, inclusive:
December 31, 2007 — White Birch and Old Russian end the year with 85 retail locations in Georgia. Major centers include Atlanta, Conyers, Marietta, Savannah, Macon, Augusta, Alpharetta, Athens, and Gainesville.
December 19, 2007 — White Birch debuts at Sahil’s Package Store in Atlanta (404 929 8847), bringing our Georgia store count to 70. For a complete list of locations, visit www.1147vodka.com/buy
December 18, 2007 — White Birch will be a sponsor of the Atlanta Women’s Expo in March 2008. This yearly event with all-star speakers brings products and speakers to the attention of women throughout metro Atlanta.
December 18, 2007 — White Birch will be the official vodka of Ron and Susan Brooks’s Valentine’s Party 2008 in Cobb County.
December 17, 2007 — “White Birch Vodka” group created on Facebook.
December 4, 2007 — I’m now available in a 750-ml gift box containing two decorative shot glasses in original Cyrillic lettering from Russia. Future editions will contain only glasses with English lettering. For locations near you, visit www.1147vodka.com/buy
December 14, 2007 — For every new retail liquor dealer or restaurant who stocks me (White Birch) or my companion brand, Old Russian, through the end of January, 1147vodka.com will make a charitable contribution in the amount of $50.
If you know of a retailer or restaurant who doesn’t carry our brands, just give them a copy of this page or visit www.1147vodka.com/buyform.html. (We’ll let new retailers know how they can claim their charitable contribution.)
September 2007 — White Birch and Old Russian first imported to America, Atlanta, Georgia.
April 16, 1147 (Julian calendar) – Vodka invented, Moscow, Russia.
We’re looking for a venue in the Atlanta area that has a first-rate bartender. The type who knows her drinks cold, can recommend new drinks and new liquors, laughs at our jokes and tells some of her own, pretends that we’re her only customer, and knows when to give us privacy. Anyone know a bartender like this?
We would like to be able to buy drinks made with White Birch or Old Russian vodka at Eno Restaurant in Atlanta. How about it, Doug?
Try the Pomegranate Martini at the Park 75 Lounge in the Four Seasons Hotel in midtown Atlanta. It is straight Absolut vodka poured over ice cubes made out of pomegranate juice, with an orange twist. Heaven! (Of course, it would taste better with White Birch, but we’re working on that!)