Smirnoff Vodka

History of Smirnoff

The war with Napoleon caused enormous devastation. In 1815, Moscow was still recovering from those horrors, but Ivan Smirnov dared to build a distillery on the banks of the Moskva River. That year he also registered his brand, Societé Ivan Smirnov.

Although Ivan's products were doing well, it was his nephew Piotr who propelled the company to new heights. He took charge after his uncle died in 1864. Piotr had a great talent for commerce and marketing. During the second half of the 19th century, Piotr Smirnov Dils (as the company was then called) became the largest vodka producer in Russia. He owed that success partly to charcoal filtering and column distillation, which allowed him to produce a purer vodka than many of his competitors.

Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution in 1917 had disastrous consequences for the company. The Bolsheviks confiscated all commercial enterprises in Moscow; thus also the Smirnov distillery. One of the family members, Nicolai Smirnov, managed to escape to France. There he built a small distillery near Paris. He gave his surname a French twist, resulting in the Smirnoff we know today.

Not long after, he found a partner to sell his vodka in the United States and Canada. As a result, a distillery was immediately built in the American state of Connecticut. That step was enormously important for the success of Smirnoff.

Smirnoff Cocktails

Smirnoff is now made from neutral grain alcohol. That process takes place in distillation columns and takes 24 hours. After that, the alcohol is diluted with demineralized water. Although thanks to this distillation there are few impurities in the drink (certainly much less than in Piotr's vodka), Smirnoff is still filtered with charcoal. In total, the vodka flows through seven tons of charcoal, which takes no less than eight hours.

The pure, smooth, soft taste of Smirnoff makes this vodka the perfect ingredient for countless cocktails. So definitely try how Smirnoff tastes in the mix. A Moscow Mule is easy to make: you just need to get ginger beer and lime. You can also whip up a Dirty Martini quite easily with Dry Vermouth and olives.

Buy Smirnoff Vodka online

With the Red, Black and Blue Smirnoff has a beautiful range of vodkas. In principle, you would have more than enough of that. But Smirnoff wouldn't be Smirnoff if they didn't add a little extra. That's why flavored vodkas are also available. Take a look in our webshop and place your order. It's quick and very simple.