Stolichnaya Elit
Allied Domecq Spirits North America will be expanding its luxury vodka brand, Stolichnaya
Elit, to additional markets. The premium vodka (which is priced at $60 a bottle) has done well in California and
will now be available in bars and restaurants in New York, Boston, Chicago and other large cities. Stoli Elit is
filtered at sub-zero temperatures which helps release impurities and like other premium vodkas is smoother than
traditional vodkas. Vodka used to be used primarily in mixing but now premium vodkas such as Belvedere and Grey
Goose, as well as the proliferation of flavored vodkas, have reawakened this segment of the liquor market.
"Consumers are not drinking more, they are drinking better, said Jim Clerkin, president of Allied Domecq Spirits North
America. Nice of him to say so, but I'm pretty certain we are still drinking more as well as drinking better.
