Etalon

Russia

Etalon vodka

another Russian phantom

This is a review of Etalon vodka from Russia. I sampled it in Germany in 2012. It’s clear, 40% alcohol, and it was okayish.

Etalon vodka (Эталон) confused me a little. On the label it said that it had been manufactured in Belarus, but it also said that it had been imported from Russia. So, which one was it then? Had it been distilled in Belarus and bottled in Russia?

Moscow Distillery Cristall

You might remember the name Moscow Distillery Cristall from the epically complicated Stolichnaya vodka saga. As it turns out, they were also producing Etalon vodka for a while. I don’t know for how long, though. And I also don’t know what that means for the Belarusian claim on the label.

Either way, Moscow Distillery Cristall still had Etalon vodka on their website in 2019:

Etalon vodka page in 2019
from http://eng.kristall.ru/catalog/export.php?id_item=89&PHPSESSID=0fbb911c100bd68526610dab749efbf4 on June 2nd 2019

In October 2021, however, their new website shows no trace of this vodka anymore:

Moscow Distillery Cristall
from kristall.ru on October 10th 2021

So maybe Etalon vodka has been discontinued? I don’t know.

Etalon vodka is slightly below average

Anyway, here’s my review from 2012: Etalon vodka had a hot taste, so hot in fact that I didn’t really like it that much. The aftertaste wasn’t great either. It tasted too much like industrial alcohol.

The triangular bottle design was weird but okay, and the price of about 14€ for 700ml was good.

I’m still not sure whether Etalon vodka has been discontinued or not, and I’m also not sure how Belarus factors into the equation. But I am also not sure if I care anymore, either.