google-site-verification: googlee20fcd946adc59a7.html Out of the Past: April 2014

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

1972: Vodka Invasion

Who won the Cold War? Vodka.

Prior to the mid-1970s, vodka lagged well behind the whiskeys in the market for spirits in the U.S. and most other Western nations.

Then came détente and President Richard Nixon's effort to ease geo-political tensions with the Soviet Union.

"The President subsequently authorized his good friend Donald Kendall, the Chief Executive Office of Pepsi-Cola, to do business with the Soviets," Patricia Herly explains.

"The American company agreed to help the Soviet government set up a factory with the capacity to produce 74 million bottles of cola a year, using Pepsi's syrup. The cash-strapped Soviets were allowed to pay in vodka.

Continued in The Book Stall

Vodka: A Global History
Vodka
good spirits & fine liqueurs
Beverage Supplies

Artwork: James Bond/Vodka Martini