not a whale

This is a review of Beluga Noble vodka from Russia. I sampled it in Russia in 2010. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, owned by Beluga Group, and I fucking loved it.

Beluga Noble vodka is a true premium brand. It comes in different editions, one of them in a gift box with a little brush that you can use to clean the bottle before opening it or something. But I didn’t get that box. I just got this bottle.

And for 31€/700ml, it didn’t come cheap.

finest quality

What about the vodka itself, though? On the label it says FINEST QUALITY and EXPORT, and I keep wondering what that means. Has there ever been a brand that used the term MEDIOCRE QUALITY for its products? And what does it mean that I bought this EXPORT vodka in Russia, the country where it was supposedly produced?

Anyway, lust like many other premium vodka brands, Beluga Noble vodka seems to be aiming at the top shelf in the liquor store.

thirty-day rest for Beluga Noble vodka

So I checked out the official Beluga vodka website. It looked a bit old school, as if it hadn’t been updated in a while. There was some information about the Mariinsk Distillery that had been producing Beluga products since its inception in 2002. There were some cocktail recipes and there was a bartender class.

Beluga vodka is owned by the Beluga Group, one of the largest alcoholic beverage companies in Russia. There is an info page on their site that talks about a THIRTY-DAY ‘REST’ PERIOD that is supposed to get rid of unwanted smells and enhance the aroma.

I also found a Facebook page with about 110,000 followers, but it hadn’t posted any updates since 2021. The Instagram account had about 95,000 followers and had posted for the last time on February 23rd 2022.

And we all know what that piece of shit Putin did one day later.

[online search from April 12th 2022]

I wondered how many other companies apply the 30-day rest period to their vodka.

what exactly is a beluga?

Whatever the case, Beluga Noble vodka is awesome. Sure it’s a bit expensive, but the vodka itself is worth it – it tastes smooth like water, and the aftertaste is full, aromatic, and lasting. Exactly what you want from a vodka.

The bottle design confused me at first, though. I don’t know what you associate with the word “Beluga”, but I was thinking of those little white whales in the Arctic, those with the big foreheads. But then I noticed that there was a sturgeon on the label. And a sturgeon isn’t a whale, it’s a fish.

Anyway, I like both. And I was sad when the bottle was finally empty.

If you don’t mind spending a bit more and you want to have some of the finest vodka around – try Beluga Noble vodka!