Stolichnaya Gluten Free Vodka (700 ml)

When Soviet specialists formulated Stolichnaya in the late 1930s, the deliberate decision was to retain cereal identity rather than chase full neutrality — a philosophy encoded in a narrow distillation cut that discards all spirit evaporating below 67.2°C and above 79.0°C. That choice still governs every batch today.

Grain — winter wheat and spring wheat with a minority proportion of rye — is sourced from Russia's Black Earth (Chernozem) region of Tambov, one of the world's most fertile agricultural belts, where deep humus-rich soils and continental climate produce starch-dense grain. SPI Group owns surrounding farmland supplying roughly 10% of requirements; the balance comes from neighbouring Black Earth farms.

At Talvis Distillery, Tambov, a five-column continuous rectification system — with the mash column operating under vacuum at 60°C and vapour passing through a copper cartridge for sulphur removal — produces spirit at 96.3% ABV. That spirit travels by tanker train ~850 miles to Latvijas Balzams, Riga (built 1900 by Tsarist order), where it is blended with water drawn from 200-metre artesian wells, reverse-osmosis treated, rested in 250,000-litre tanks, and passed through four sequential filtrations: quartz sand, Russian birch wood charcoal, woven cloth, and a final polish. A trace addition of 1.8 g/L sugar rounds the palate without perceptible sweetness.

The Gluten Free designation addresses a specific consumer need: the four-stage filtration process removes gluten peptides to below detectable thresholds, while the narrow-cut philosophy ensures the faint toasty grain backbone and gentle peppery rye finish survive intact — an unusual combination of inclusivity and technical character preservation.

Non-vintage by nature; drink immediately or store upright away from light. Best served well-chilled at −18°C to −20°C.