Russia’s first whiskey distillery is due to be built in the Kaliningrad region, local news website Kaliningrad.ru reported Thursday. The project was announced by Igor Kudryavtsev, general director of the Alliance-1892 winery and cognac distillery, the company behind the move.
Whiskey consumption has not decreased in Russia, despite the country’s economic recession, according to Kudryavtsev. He said the new product will fulfill up to 35 percent of Russia’s demand for the beverage and will also be exported to India, China, Africa and Latin America.
“The distillery will offer a domestically made product, which will be comparable to the world’s best,” Kudryavtsev said. He added that a number of foreign companies have offered to collaborate in the project. Investment in the new distillery will total 13 million euro ($14.6 million), according to the RBC news website. The manufacturing of whiskey became possible in Russia only last year after Russia legalized the production of distilled beverages from grain. (themoscowtimes.com)