Hot Romanian Chicks singing about Vodka. Must see...

Mustang Vodka, LLC announced the new way it will be selling Silver Mustang Vodka. Starting March 17, 2009, Silver Mustang will be the first ultra-premium vodka in the history of the beverage industry to be available exclusively through the Internet. HR Superior, Inc., based in Chicago, IL, launched http://www.SPIRITS24H.com as the exclusive retailer for the U.S. market for this brand.

Silver Mustang -- made from the finest hand-selected organically grown grains, artesian water, no chemical additives, and distilled five times for exceptionally smooth taste -- captures both the exclusive quality of pure vodka and the living symbol of America's free spirit.

The composition of natural ingredients coupled with a unique recipe and innovative distilling techniques make for an unequaled 40% alc. ultra-premium product.

Silver Mustang is crafted in the remote region of eastern Poland, the heavily forested and pristine area free of industrious centers where agriculture and distilling methods have remained unchanged for centuries. Its quality has been recognized by the Beverage Tasting Institute. According to the BTI -- International Review of Spirits Award 2007, Silver Mustang comes "highly recommended" and is "... very smooth, polished, and flavorful, will make an excellent martini."

Image by Marco Veringa via Flickr

It says on the bottle to serve from a freezer
It goes to a syrupy but I don't know why?

It doesn't freeze due to the high alcohol content - alcohol's freezing point is much colder than domestic freezers can get.

Not all vodka's should be served from the freezer though. It can reduce the flavour in some flavoured vodka's - although you could try this if you WANT to reduce the strength of the spirit.

It's 40% alcohol, and alcohol doesn't freeze until -114 oC.

A freezer will only be at about -18 oC.

Entrepreneurs are entering into the spirit of Russia's presidential election. Businesses hope to cash in on the name of the eventual winner to sell products such as vodka. Dmitry Medvedev is the leading candidate and experts believe his brand-name will be as popular as Putin's.

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Putinka vodka piggybacked on the cult-like popularity of Vladimir Putin to become one of Russia's top-selling brands of spirits.

For a new vodka named after Mr. Putin's presidential successor, Putinka is proving to be as tough an act to follow as Mr. Putin himself.

Medvedeff vodka, named after President Dmitry Medvedev, appeared in shops here in December, next to bottles of Putinka vodka and for the same price -- 150 rubles, or roughly $4, per half liter.

But, while Putinka, which hit the market in 2003, remains Russia's second-best-selling vodka, Medvedeff has yet to find a place among the top 20.

Mr. Putin left the presidency in May, accepting the more-junior position of prime minister, yet polls show he remains more popular than Mr. Medvedev and that his aura of absolute power hasn't waned.

The brand has annual sales of more than $500 million.

To stand out, experts say, a vodka maker needs a unique brand and needs to market it heavily.

Russia's Top Vodkas
1. Green Label (9%)
2. Putinka (5%)
3. Five Lakes (3%)
4. Soyuz-Viktan Harmony of Nature (3%)
5. Parlament (3%)

A vodka factory near Moscow confirms it distills the vodka but says other details -- such as production volumes and who owns the brand -- are "a secret."

TPG Kristall, the factory's owner, also refuses to identify the brand's owner.

TPG Kristall's president declined to comment for this article but told the daily Vedomosti that his company was making a small quantity of Medvedeff for a Moscow vodka maker to test the market.

"It has no chances," says Alexander Yeremenko, managing director of branding consultant BrandLab.

He says the fact that Mr. Medvedev's authority is so tentative means drinkers won't embrace the drink in the same way as they have Putinka.

Vinexim, owner of the Putinka brand, spent tens of millions of dollars promoting and advertising it in recent years.

He fears that Mr. Medvedev, in Russian minds, is too closely associated with the unfolding economic crisis that is likely to get worse.

By contrast, branding gurus and pollsters say Mr. Putin is associated with a period of rising prosperity when oil prices were high and real incomes here improved.

Mr. Kaufman says Mr. Putin's background as a spy is a good match for a drink that is at least 40% alcohol.

Brand gurus say the Medvedeff brand is also slightly confusing because it evokes images of bears -- medvedi in Russian -- as well as the president.

A spokesman for Mr. Putin has said that Mr. Putin has "an extraordinarily negative attitude" towards attempts to use his name for commercial purposes, but in the case of Putinka has no legal means to block it.

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Vodka ("horilka" in Ukrainian) stands high among the top stereotypes used to describe Ukrainians.

Anyone new in the country can tell that vodka is indeed a highly popular national drink, simply by viewing the vodka section at any supermarket -- it runs several meters, showcasing an amazing variety of vodka brands.

There are no less than 40 of them produced in Ukraine, while an average supermarket holds as much as 20.

Besides, most brands offer a number of different kinds each.

Naturally, Ukrainian vodka is one of the common souvenirs any tourist tries to take home.

And that's where he faces the difficulty of choice.

A classical definition of vodka is "a drink of water and ethanol, containing a small amount of impurities, sometimes with berry or fruit flavorings as well as spices."

One of the widespread myths is that of vodka as an original Russian/Ukrainian drink.

In truth, the first to obtain liquid similar to vodka was Persian Doctor Al-Razi -- in the XI century he managed to extract ethanol by distillation.

But of course with Persia being a Muslim country which prohibits alcohol entirely, the new liquid was used only for medical purposes.

The first to distill alcohol in Europe was an Italian monk-alchemic, Valentius.

Using Arab methods to distill grape must and turn it into ethanol, Italians obtained "aqua vitae," which later gave birth to all modern spirits -- brandy, cognac, whiskey, schnapps and of course, vodka.

The history of vodka in Russia began in 1386 when Genoese merchants first brought "aqua vitae" to Moscow.

Instead of grapes, Russians used rye to extract ethanol, thus the Russian called vodka "bread wine" at first.

Back then vodka was frequently flavored with herbs, berries or spices, and in 16th-17th centuries anise vodka was very common.

It lost its popularity long since, but anise is still used in many world-famous spirits: Turksih raki, Greek ouzo, Italian sambuca, and French pastis.

It started with tsar monopoly on vodka production in 15th century, which allowed only tsar-owned factories to produce it and sell it exquisitely in Tsar kabaks (taverns).

Because a lot of vodka was sold on credit, it led to "kabak debts" and consequently to the enslavement of those who couldn't pay up.

The first patented vodka "Moskovksaya Osobennaya" ("Moscow Special") contained 40 percent alcohol, which was said to be an ideal alcohol content by the great Russian chemist Dmitriy Mendeleyev.

In 1914 Tsar Nikolay the Second announced prohibition for the time of war.

"Sometimes you gotta take a chance in life," Tobi Foster said.

"I put all my eggs in this basket."

Actually, he put all his potatoes in this basket and distilled it all with local glacier water into what he says is a very successful operation -- Permafrost Vodka from Glacier Creek Distillery.

"It's doing 10 times better than I thought it would be doing," Foster said.

"We've been on the market about three months and we're already selling all of our productions."

Part of the marketing strategy involves branding the vodka as a product of The Last Frontier.

"We're just selling in Alaska right now, but we hope to sell down south eventually," distiller Theo Graber said.

It took five years and nearly $100,000 to get to this point.

Vodka connoisseurs -- and yes, they're out there -- will tell you Permafrost has a smooth, almost sweet taste on the palate.

The company has already outgrown its small, backyard shed of a distillery and plans to upgrade to a larger facility.

"You'd be surprised how patriotic Alaskans are towards Alaskan products," Foster said.

This is a top-shelf, premium spirit and sells for $50 a bottle.

Alaska-made products are not always cheaper, but people like what they represent -- there's a good story behind this one.

Glacier Creek Distillery calls itself Alaska's "first and only distillery."

Technically that's true, but back in the early 1990s a company named Alaska Mountaintop Spirits produced locally made vodka called Attakiska.

That used glacier water as well, but instead of potatoes it used grain alcohol.