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
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Artwork: James Bond/Vodka Martini
