Type | Vodka |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG |
Country of origin | Berlin, Germany |
Introduced | 1921 |
Alcohol by volume | 37.5% (standard bottle) |
Proof (US) | 80 |
Related products | List of vodkas |
Website | Official website |
Wodka Gorbatschow is a German vodka brand. It has been produced in Berlin since 1921. Since 1960, it is owned by the Söhnlein Rheingold AG, a part of the Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG, which is owned by Dr. Oetker since 1996.
History
Lev Leontyevitch Gorbachev was the operator of a vodka distillery in St. Petersburg, Russia.[1] During the October Revolution, Gorbachev left his homeland along with his family for Berlin, where he started to produce vodka on April 28, 1921.[2] The brand name, the onion-domed bottle and the blue label were registered by the L. Gorbatschow & Co. as a trademark in 1923.
In 1938, Gorbatschow Liköre J. Kramer & Co. was aryanized as a Jewish company and taken over by pharmacist Otto Ludwig Heinen, who became a member of the Waffen-SS in 1939. Due to various charges, Heinen was sent to SS-Totenkopfverbände and classified as exonerated during denazification in 1946.[3]
Arthur Barth, who had entered the company Gorbatschow-Liköre Dr. Heinen & Co. before the end of the war, became director after Heinen moved back to his hometown Munich. In 1960, the company Gorbatschow-Wodka Arthur Barth was acquired by the Söhnlein Rheingold KG corporate to become marketed nationwide.
Since 1975, the brand's slogan is Des Wodkas reine Seele (English: The pure soul of vodka), alluding to the cliché of the Russian soul. The campaign was launched after Soviet vodka brands had successfully entered the West-German market.[4]
Products
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Wodka_Gorbatschow_0%2C1l.jpg/220px-Wodka_Gorbatschow_0%2C1l.jpg)
There are different types and bottling sizes of Wodka Gorbatschow. The most common is the 0.7-liter bottle with blue label and 37.5% abv.
Variant | Label | ABV | Launch year | Filling size | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wodka Gorbatschow | Blue | 37,5 % | 1 L; 0.7 L; 0.2 L; 0.1 L; 40 mL Miniatur; 3 L Magnum | ||
Wodka Gorbatschow 40% | Blue | 40% | 1 L | Only for export | |
Wodka Gorbatschow 50% | Black | 50% | 1 L; 0.7 L | Intended only for the gastronomy | |
Wodka Gorbatschow 60% | Red | 60% | 1 L | Only for export | |
Wodka Platinum 44 | Blue | 44% | 2003 | 0.7 L; 3 L Magnum | Different production method & bottle shape |
Wodka Gorbatschow Citron | Yellow | 37,5 % | 2008 | 0.7 L | Slightly flavored with lemon |
Gorbatschow & Lemon | 10% | 2010 | 0.33 L can | Mixed drink in the style lemon vodka | |
Gorbatschow & Orange | 10% | 2014 | 0.33 L can | Mixed drink in the style orange vodka | |
Gorbatschow & Maracuja | 10% | 2016 | 0.33 L can | Mixed drink in the style maracuja vodka |
References
- ^ GORBATSCHOW
- ^ Wodka Gorbatschow, history
- ^ Haase, Philipp T. (2021-01-27). "Otto Ludwig Heinen". Beamte nationalsozialistischer Reichsministerien (in German). Retrieved 2022-02-13.
- ^ "Seele und Hits". Der Spiegel (in German). 1977-04-24. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-02-15.