Notes: This vodka is produced in Yaroslavl, a city in the Golden Ring near Moscow.

For the Russian Treasure brand they use selected wheat and water drawn from a deep artesian well and is distilled 5 times then filtered 5 times each using the usual Russian method of paper, sand, then birch charcoal used for the highest grades of vodka.

Produced at a state distillery and given the “luxe” (type 3) designation of the highest grade of vodka by their government. From the same company that makes Regalia Vodka (our spirit of the month for July 2007) , Regalia Gold, a premium vodka with additional filtering through gold and aged in white gold vats for 6 months before bottling , and Casanova’s Secret, a vodka flavored with with safflower leuzea roots and ginseng.

Appearance: Crystal clear, no sediment whatsoever. Limpid shining pool in the glass. On swirling, it leaves a thin clear coat on the inside of the glass with long thin legs and droplets forming. Wonderful bright appearance.

First Impression: Alcohol and grain, with more alcohol /spirity notes than some of its cohorts. No trace of off-notes, or the smell of rubbing alcohol that many other vodkas suffer from.

Taste: Alcohol and minerals in a slightly sweet and oily entry glide past the tongue nipping at it with the alcohol edge and nice lingering finish.

Wonderful hard mineral water taste and body in this vodka – real Russian well water. I suspect this is the distillery (or one of them) that the old Stolichnaya came from- it had the same wonderful water profile- nowadays Stoli tastes like it was made from rain or distilled water – severely lacking character and depth in my opinion. This on the other hand tastes and feels like real Russian vodka

Drinks: Already very clean to start with, chilling it down makes it even more smooth. Nice at room temperature, maybe too good cold.

Bottle: Clear plastic 100 ML cup (twice the size of the average American mini) with design and printing silkscreened on in red and yellow.Foil peel back top.Care must be taken not to crush or pierce the foil.But it is a very handy way of serving and consuming the vodka.

Final Thoughts: Excellent for the money. A real Russian vodka that is not over priced to make it “competitive” with the premium brands – they did not use the excuse of “No one will take it seriously if it is less than $25” that many other vodkas do. Less money than either Stoli or the Avian Fashion Victim Vodka, with more depth, taste and complexity.

Website:http://www.aikoimporters.com

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