Smirnoff

Smirnoff is a brand of vodka that originated in Russia and is now owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898), who pioneered charcoal filtration in the 1870s, and by the time of his death in 1898, was a recognized member of the Russian nobility and a purveyor to the Imperial Russian court.

History[edit | edit source]

The Smirnoff brand was founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov in 1864. He used charcoal filtration to purify his vodka, which was a novel technique at the time. After his death, his son Vladimir Smirnov took over the company. However, during the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Smirnov family had to flee the country, and they decided to settle in France. Here, they set up a new distillery and changed the brand name to Smirnoff.

In the 1930s, Vladimir met Rudolph Kunett, a Russian who had emigrated to America in the 1920s. The two decided to collaborate and introduced the Smirnoff brand to the United States. In 1939, they sold the rights to the Smirnoff brand to Heublein, a company that specialized in importing food and alcohol products. In 1987, Heublein was bought by Grand Metropolitan, which would later merge with Guinness in 1997 to form Diageo.

Products[edit | edit source]

Smirnoff produces a wide range of vodkas, including the Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka, which is the world's best-selling vodka. Other products include flavored vodkas such as Smirnoff Vanilla, Smirnoff Lime, and Smirnoff Green Apple. In addition to vodka, Smirnoff also produces malt beverages, including the Smirnoff Ice line.

In Popular Culture[edit | edit source]

Smirnoff has had a significant impact on popular culture. It has been featured in numerous films and television shows, including James Bond films where it was the vodka of choice for the famous "shaken, not stirred" martini.