Belka and Strelka Vodka, 700ml

Product Information

Recently-formed brand management company Ellustria is set to unveil three new expressions – a gin, vodka and a Cognac-based spirit. Their journey paved the way for further exploration and, without their help, the Soviets wouldn't have been able to take the next step and send Yuri Gagarin – the world's first astronaut – up into the deep dark depths of space just one year later.

Triple-distilled from wheat and filtered through silver, it's made in Kazakhstan, the country where these brave dogs were launched into space from. This Memphis recording studio launched the careers of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley.Not only by standing out from the rest but also by the virtue of honoring a great moment in time, and the spirit that got us there. This dynamic duo of dogs ventured out into space aboard the Sputnik, orbiting Earth 18 times before safely landing. Bottled in France, the spirit drink blends together the “softest vodka with luxuriously complex” eau-de-vie de Cognac. That is why when there were plans to introduce this Kazakhstan made vodka , we soon found inspiration in the stars.

You might know the story of Belka and Strelka: two stray dogs who were plucked from the streets of Moscow, trained up and fired into space from Kazakhstan. This dynamic duo of dogs ventured out into space aboard the Sputnik 5 back in August 1960, orbiting Earth 18 times before safely landing. Also joining the portfolio is Il Dottore gin, inspired by Venetian doctors battling the black plague with gin-based remedies. The rocket-shaped Belka-and-Strelka vodka jugs pictured were sculpted in the wake of their flight in the Russian village of Gzhel, a town outside Moscow that has been known for its folk ceramics since the early 19 th century. You'll struggle to find a cocktail or mixer it won't go perfectly with, but we prefer to add a shot of it to an ice cold glass of Fentimans Curiosity Cola, a mix otherwise known to you and us as "Curious Cosmonauts".It's an extremely versatile vodka that has been created in the same pioneering spirit that helped pave the way for Belka and Strelka's heroism. The long connection between the Royal Navy and rum can be traced back to 1655 and Vice-Admiral William Penn's expedition to the West Indies.