Imperia Vodka

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Origin: Russia; $28

Vodka's country of origin is in dispute, but there is no doubting its rich Russian history dating back at least 500 years. Imperia Vodka aims to capitalize on that legacy, utilizing a 19th-century recipe developed by chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (inventor of the Periodic Table of Elements), and patented by the government of St. Petersburg. Winter wheat, harvested from the black soil of the Russian steppes, creates a liquor that undergoes a total of eight distillations before glacial water from Lake Ladoga brings it down to proper proof. The liquid then passes through both charcoal and quartz crystal multiple times to strain out any impurities.