Stolichnaya

Stolichnaya is a vodka made of wheat and rye grain. It originated in the Soviet Union in 1938. There are two versions of the vodka: the version found outside Russia is made in Latvia, while the version found inside Russia is made there. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union the ownership of Stolichnaya has been disputed between the Russian state-owned company FKP Soyuzplodoimport and SPI Group, a private company chartered in Luxembourg. SPI Group have sold their version as Stoli since 2022. Production process Fermentation of Stolichnaya starts with wheat and rye grains and artesian water, and takes about 60 hours. Once fermentation is complete, the resulting liquid is distilled three times, to a strength of 96.4% alcohol by volume (ABV). That spirit is diluted to bottling strength using more artesian well water. It is then filtered through quartz, sand, activated charcoal and, finally, through cloth. SPI, the company controlled by Yuri Shefler, produces Stolichnaya in Latvia at Latvijas Balzams, using Latvian water but alcohol from a distillery in Tambov, Russia. In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, SPI announced that they would begin sourcing all of their alcohol from Slovakia instead of Russia. Name and logo The name Stolichnaya is pronounced in Russian . The word is the adjectival form of столица (stolitsa), meaning "capital city". The Soyuzplodoimport bottle label features the words "Stolichnaya Vodka" in gold cursive script over a drawing of a Moscow landmark, the recently rebuilt Hotel Moskva.