What you didn't know about kalashnikov vodka!

(Click on the image to the left to view What you didn't already know about our bottle design...)

1. Kalashnikov Vodka’ was designed and named after Lieutenant-General Mikhail Timoveeich Kalashnikov who is, at the age of 84, still a serving officer and the Head Designer of the Izhmash Engineering Plant in Izshevsk in Siberia.

2. General Mikhail T Kalashnikov is the founder and the Honorary Chairman of The Kalashnikov Joint Stock Vodka Co (1947) that makes Kalashnikov Vodka.

3. General Kalashnikov was a Tank Commander in WWII, known in Russia as The Great Patriotic War, and who fought number of battles against the Nazi occupation until wounded which is when he turned his energy to designing.

4. General Mikhail T Kalashnikov is also the designer of the gun known as the AK47 for which he was made Hero of the Socialist Cause and awarded the Order of Lenin and The Gold Star of the Hammer & Sickle.

5. AK47 stands for ‘Automatic gun of Kalashnikov 1947’. It was adopted by the Red Army in 1947.

6. The Vodka is produced in St Petersburg and uses Russian grain and ‘live water’ from Lake Ladoga north of St Petersburg. In Russia’ live water’ is the term given to water that still has the beneficial micro organism in it, as per spring bottled water, compared to industry distilled water which is called ‘dead water’ in Russia

7. Russia has 3 categories of vodka;

• ‘Spirit Essence’
• ‘Standard’
• ‘Lux

8. Vodka has existed in Russia in honour of General Kalashnikov but until recently never exported.

9. The strength is 41 abv, one degree stronger than standard vodka, This was devised to stop fake or poor standard vodka being passed on to the troops. The extra strength was never disclosed (until recently) so any fake vodka would be made at standard 40 abv and the quality control officers just has to test the alcoholic strength to determine if it was genuine military vodka, at 41 abv, or fake at 40abv or below. This strength has now commonly become known as ‘Military Strength’.

10. The traditional toast between Russian officers is ‘To Friendship!’, which in Russian is pronounced ‘Za Droozhe-boo !’ and written in Russian as; "__ ______!"

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