Nemiroff Vodka

If you were to stop ten people at random on the streets of London or New York and ask them, "Why is Nemiroff Vodka called Nemiroff Vodka?" and, "Where does Nemiroff Vodka come from?" The chances are they'd reply: "Mr Nemiroff" and ???Russia". But they'd be quite wrong because Nemiroff Vodka comes from the land of Chernobyl, Andrei Shevchenko, Chicken Kiev and the Klitschko brothers. You've guessed it, it's Ukraine! And the name Nemiroff comes from Nemyriv, a town in western Ukraine's Vinnytska oblast (county).

A Short History

From time immemorial, the inhabitants of Nemyriv had been producing Vodka - purely for personal consumption of course. However, it wasn't until the mid eighteenth century that Nemyriv's distinctive vodka finally got a mention in the pages of history, and thus the embryonic 'brand' was born.

Some years later, in 1872, the Russian nobleman, Count Grigory Stroganoff (the famous patron of the arts, lover of beef cooked in a creamy sauce, and aficionado of fine Ukrainian vodka), was given Nemyriv as part of his wealthy wife's dowry. He promptly opened up a large commercial distillery in the town. His daughter, Maria Shcherbatova, took over the running of the plant in 1885 and it is said that the spirit of her management style and commitment to quality and innovation lives on in the Nemiroff Vodka Company today.

In the intervening years, the distillery went from strength to strength. Nationalisation of the plant by the Bolsheviks in 1920 helped to consolidate its growing reputation as a quality vodka producer with standards that others would dream of emulating. Even in those Soviet days, the "Made in Nemirovskaya Factory" stamp became an unofficial mark of the highest quality.

Fast forward to 1992 - three years after the breaching of the Berlin Wall, two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and one year after Ukraine had become an independent nation. At a time of widespread privatization, and with the aid of foreign investors, Stepan Glus, the incumbent director of the Nemyriv distillery, founded the Nemiroff Vodka Company, dreaming of instilling new life into this jewel in the crown of Ukrainian vodka producers.

The rich legacy of Nemiroff's past, the traditional recipes and experience (and even some of Maria Shcherbatova's - remember her? - original distilling equipment!) handed down through the generations joining with the inspired innovations of the new owners - led by the business acumen and the distilling talents of Stepan Glus - ensured that by 1994 Nemiroff had a healthy domestic market and was already producing Nemiroff Vodka for export.

Nemiroff: most popular sub-brands

It was in 1998 that Nemiroff started producing its own really original vodka, which it gave the original name of Nemiroff Original Vodka. There was also Nemiroff Premium (aimed at the Premium Class segment of the vodka market), and the innovative and uniquely flavored Nemiroff Honey Pepper vodka; the first in a long line of flavored vodka recipes dreamed up by master distiller Stepan Glus. Other flavors include such notable names as: Nemiroff Ukrainian Wheat, Nemiroff Birch Special, Nemiroff Rye Honey, Nemiroff Cranberry, Nemiroff Citron.

Both honey and chili pepper have long been used individually to flavor Ukrainian vodkas, but it took the genius and alchemy of one Stepan Glus at the Nemiroff Vodka Company to blend these seemingly incompatible elements, taking fiery red peppers from the rich black Ukrainian earth, golden honey from the hives of industrious Ukrainian bees, pure limpid waters from deep Ukrainian wells and conjuring up, as if out of thin air, a vodka that became Nemiroff Honey Pepper Vodka; an instant classic of tradition, innovation and, above all, impeccable taste.

Nemiroff Ukrainian Wheat Vodka made, as the name suggests, from the finest native Ukrainian wheat and pure natural waters from the distillery's famous artesian wells.

Nemiroff Birch Special Vodka is based on a traditional vodka recipe for what Ukrainians refer to as horilka (there is some debate as to whether horilka is the same as vodka, but that's another story) made from birch buds and having the unforgettable aroma of lime tree blossom, it has a mild sensuous fruity taste that lingers pleasantly in the mouth.

Nemiroff's High Premium Class Vodka Lex (Latin for law) was launched in 2003. It's an expensive vodka with a smooth taste and, like Nemiroff Birch Special, uses alcohol flavored with lime blossom to bring out the subtle flavor. In addition, and unusually for vodka, Lex is aged for six months to further enhance and harmonize the vodka recipe's carefully selected ingredients. The vodka bottle designed by Pillippe Seys itself reeks of style with its weighty, flat almost triangular shape all in cool shades of gray with the distinctive Nemiroff logo embossed in blue along the bottom edge. Lex is widely publicized on the internet by the Nemiroff Vodka TV ad made by Triada Studio. Nemiroff Vodka also produces a sub brand of low-alcohol beverages under the name of "Spy".

How much is Nemiroff Vodka? If you're after cheap Nemiroff Vodka you can't beat Nemiroff Original which will cost you around $15 a bottle. Nemiroff Vodka prices range from $15 to around $30 for the High Premium Class Nemiroff Lex (in some stores Nemiroff Lex and Nemiroff Delicat could set you back as much as $40, so shop around!)

You can buy Nemiroff Vodka online where the cost of Nemiroff Vodka is usually cheaper than in conventional stores. Here is one of the many online outlets you can visit: http://www.joyspirits.com/bybrand/vodka/nemiroff/.

Another interesting site worth a visit is The Rum Howler Blog http://therumhowlerblog.wordpress.com (describing itself as "A website for Spirited Reviews") where, in the "Highly Recommended for Vodka Shots and Sublime Cocktails" section, you'll find Nemiroff recipes for Rye Honey Vodka Balalaika and Modified Rye Honey Vodka Martini.

The standard shape of Nemiroff Vodka Bottle is the same for most of the wide range of vodkas available. However, there are a few exceptions, most notably the specially designed Lex bottle. There is also a range of Nemiroff souvenir Editions for the ever-popular Nemiroff Honey Pepper flavor. It is available in minion bottles from 0.05l to 1l, and a shtof-shaped bottle of 1,75l. Souvenir gift sets are also produced in attractively designed boxes which include shot glasses.

Reaching for the stars with Nemiroff Vodka.

What do Ludwig van Beethoven, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, and Pope John Paul II share with the Nemiroff Vodka Company? (and it's not that they all drank it!). The answer is that they have all been honored by having stars in the constellation of Sagittarius named after them. Now that is the ultimate in product placement! And for the information of all those star-gazing vodka drinkers out there, the star awarded to Nemiroff has a magnitude of 9!

Unless you live on another planet you've probably seen the most famous Nemiroff Vodka commercial, which features one of the most famous people in the world today - Lady Gaga. In fact it's not a vodka commercial as such, rather a pop video for the song Bad Romance in which the distinctive Nemiroff Lex bottle makes a guest appearance.

Like many alcoholic drinks companies Nemiroff Vodka is a keen sponsor of sporting and cultural events and organizations. In the field of sports, among many other projects, they are involved in the Klitschko Brothers Foundation promoting sport (particularly boxing of course!) and fitness in Ukraine. Nemiroff also sponsors a large number of concerts by such famous international artists as Dave Gehen (leader of Depeche Mode), Robert Plant, Joe Cocker, Deep Purple, and DIO. In 2005 Nemiroff sponsored the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Ukraine in that year.

Parting Shot

With a 136-year history of distilling and production behind it, the Nemiroff Vodka Company has established itself as one of the top vodka makers in the word, with its vodka being sold in over 55 countries around the globe...

But let's leave the last word to the son of Stepan Glus (Nemiroff's founder and master vodka maker), the current CEO of the company, Alexsandr Glus, from an interview that appeared in The New York Times a couple of years ago: "There are many brands in the market without any historical background, but the distillation traditions in our region are hundreds of years old and our employees are professionals in their third or fourth generation.