Stolichnaya (Russian: столичная, meaning “capital (vodka)”, with the stress on “lich” pronounced like “leech”) is a Russian vodka made from wheat and rye grains in Tambov, a town located in Russia’s Black Earth Region. This region has long been known as the breadbasket of Russia and has a deep history of grain cultivation and vodka production. It is this blend of grains that gives Stolichnaya its distinctive spicy finish, a hallmark of Russian vodkas.
The process begins with wheat and rye grains, to which artesian well water is added to start fermentation. This stage lasts about 60 hours. Once fermentation is complete, the liquid is distilled four times to a strength of 96.4% ABV. The spirit is then diluted to bottling strength with more artesian well water, which imparts its characteristic smoothness. Finally, it is filtered through quartz sand, activated charcoal, and woven cloth. Affectionately called Stoli (though primarily outside Russian-speaking countries), the vodka has gained worldwide recognition.
The brand’s logo features the words “Stolichnaya vodka” in gold cursive script over an illustration of a former Moscow landmark, the Hotel Moskva. Stalin once stayed there, and it was also the site of one of the capital’s first Metro stations.
Stolichnaya traces its origins back to Moscow State Wine Warehouse No. 1, established in 1901 by the authorities to ensure higher-quality vodka production. Since 2001, however, the Stolichnaya trademark has been the subject of an ongoing dispute between the SPI Group and the Russian government.
In 1972, PepsiCo reached a barter agreement with the Soviet government, whereby PepsiCo was granted the rights to export and market Stolichnaya in the West in exchange for the import and domestic marketing of Pepsi-Cola in the U.S.S.R. This deal made Pepsi-Cola the first foreign product officially approved for sale in the Soviet Union.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Stolichnaya continued to be produced for export in several former Soviet republics, including Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The bottles retained their Soviet-era labels.
In August 1991, the Soviet patent office revoked the rights of the state agency to use the Stolichnaya name in Russia. This sparked numerous lawsuits, including disputes over which companies could market vodka under this name in the United States. On 20 November 1992, a federal judge ruled that PepsiCo would retain exclusive rights to the name in the U.S., as allowing others to use it would pose a “risk of irreparable harm” to the trademark.
In 2002, a Moscow court ruled that Russia would regain the rights to the Stolichnaya brand name from Soyuzplodimport (SPI).
