Message 30580 of 39188 in General Discussion

Share on Facebook |  Save to del.icio.us

> Is Smirnoff Russian vodka?

Basically No.
The company named Smirnoff may have been started by an ex-pat Russian, but he 
was not in Russia at the time. It was sold to Americans, and moved to America 
in 1934 and is apparently now owned by a British company.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smirnoff
They still retain the "Purveyor to the Imperial Court"
 crest and stuff just for marketing fluff.

In other news:

Budweiser (The American Anheuser-Busch version) is not Czech in origin as the 
name states. 'Real' Budweiser actually has to be marketed internationally 
under a different name due to the American start-up getting the name 
registered first. Communist Czechoslovakia didn't have many trademark 
agreements with the Western world at the time ;)
[Budweiser means the beer of the Budweis region, same as Champaign in France 
describes the wine of the Champaign wineries. ] 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_%28Anheuser-Busch%29
... not that most Americans would think of it as Czech anyway, so I guess any 
deception is moot :-B

Bacardi, despite all the "Fundado en Cuba" labels and badges it displays to 
this day, and ongoing advertising implying Cuban connections,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi#Bacardi_and_Cuba_today
has not had anything to do with Cuba for decades.
[Dan the Melon Man] Bacardi is as "Cuban" as Smirnoff is "Russian"

Havana Club, as apparently distibuted in the US by Bacardi company again, 
combines both the above stories. A strong brand identity and heritage 
associated with a specific country and a trademark name-grab against an 
existing producer unfortunately located in a politically ineffective state.
[Dan the Melon Man] Re: Havana Club available in the US
Real Havana Club does still exist, and (the 7yo) is my favorite in the world. 
Reasonably priced at the local bottle store too!

Beers - where to start? I think it's mostly given that many of the classes and 
names given to them relate only 'class' or style 
http://ratebeer.com/Ratings/Ratings-Beer.asp
[Belgian, German, English, Indian etc]  not actual location so there's no 
expectation of them being from the place.
However there's always been the issue of customer expectations. When a Henekin 
is in the 'Imported' column of the menu, there's always some pedant who will 
(rightly) point out that it was actually brewed in a local factory. I 
certainly sympathize that it shouldn't be $2.00 more than local stuff because 
of its 'exotic' lineage !
And try talking to an Irishman about Guiness vs Guiness! Some Irish pubs here 
have to stock both types - local (or at least Australian) and genuine imported 
bottles.

Meh. A lot of this is pedantry (I know) but interesting in a triva sort of way.

At least Finlandia is Finnish, and I agree that Smirnoff 'Norsk' is a 
deliberate deception. But so were the local whiskey makers that bottled 
'Mississippi Moonshine', 'Glenfee', or 'Craggymoor'

.dan.