This beverage recipe is unique and complicated. A technological cycle of production of the noble vodka Beluga Gold Line takes three months. The basis for this vodka is made by hyaline artesian water from Siberian springs, and malt spirit. Specific feature of malt spirit manufacture is the use of coached malt enzymes that help significantly improve the taste of Beluga Gold Line. It is malt that gives this vodka a fuller "non-diluted" taste and favor. The spirit used here is from malted wheat rather than mixing grains. We are told that this means there are a higher number of enzymes and that this reduces, even eliminates, the need for the usual additives. I think that vodka martinis are an indication of the decline of Western civilization. Martinis should be gin. Gin, gin, gin, and nothing else. And, yes, I know that a great many disagree. For me, vodka should be chilled and sipped neat. Perfect. I will accept a good Bloody Mary as a compromise.

Beluga Gold is crafted on a base of quartz-infused Siberian water, sourced from artisanal wells reaching 300 metres deep. This is then mixed with local organic ingredients, including lactose, rice extract, sugar syrup and rhodora rosea, aka golden root extract. There is no doubt in my mind that this remains the finest vodka I have ever had. It is smooth with a very very small hint of sweetness. Compare this to Russian Standard Gold or Platinum, orJewel of Russia Ultra or CLIX. Beluga exceeds all of these in flavor. It may not be the best vodka that is produced in Russia but it is no doubt the best Russian Vodka that I am able to get in the USA. Finally, I’m told that Gold Line appears in Jennifer Lopez’s “ Ain’t your Mama” video, but I can’t honestly say that I spotted it (nor that I looked very closely for a vodka with Ms. Lopez doing her thing). Given that anything involving vodka seems preordained to end up in a series of more and more bizarre toasts, a little food is essential. With Gold Line, I’d be looking for top seafood. Perhaps Spanish anchovies or fresh oysters. Caviar, of course, if the budget extends. Vodka Beluga Gold Line is not produced in bulk, its quantity is limited. This is an exclusive product. Its daily production is nine hundred bottles. If measured by the standards of modern liquor beverage production this quantity is extremely small, but highest and stable quality of the product is worth efforts taken for its production. An individual identification number is put manually on each bottle, which testifies to strict quality control of production.

I’m not a regular vodka drinker – I managed to dodge the vodka craze of some years ago – but that may well be because I have not encountered one like this. It is extraordinarily smooth, mellow, balanced, and lingering. The texture is gorgeous, velvet cushions. Amazingly creamy.

Serve chilled. The freezer if you like. I tend to start from the freezer but then move to the fridge to take off the edge. Too cold and one can mute the flavors. But definitely cool is a plus. There are notes of spices, pears, apples, a hint of a freshly baked apple and cinnamon pie. There is the merest hint of a peppery vanillin note. Pristine and ethereal. This is a first-class vodka, as good as I have ever encountered.

Vodka Beluga Gold Line is a chef-d'oeuvre of vodka production that requires a lot of time and effort, since technological process of this product creation requires a big deal of manual work, which provides for very careful processing of each element. Beluga Gold Line is presented in a stunning bottle marked with its own serial/batch number and stopped with a cork and sealing wax for that special touch which reflects the uniqueness and authenticity of the spirit within.