If luxury and metallics are going to continue to be packaging trends in 2015, Stolichnaya has already laid claim to both.
The elit series is sourced by Stolichnaya master craftsmen who scour the world for water sources from which to craft the limited edition vodkas. The idea began in 2011. The elit pristine water series explores the concept of terroir, the idea that a place has the power to influence the flavour profile of a spirit. The first edition of the elit pristine water was the Himalayan Edition. The second was the New Zealand edition last year. The purpose? …Is to capture “the brand’s unrelenting pursuit of liquid perfection as the vodka maker continues its quest to explore and bring to life the subtle tastes of exemplary vodka, beginning with the most pristine of all ingredients: water.”
The third and final edition of the elit pristine water is the Andean edition.
This year the Stolichnaya craftsmen trekked to the Colico Lake in the La Araucanía region of Chile, to a natural spring flowing from the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The water was combined with the exceptional Russian Alpha Spirit at the Latvijas Balzams distillery in Latvia, where Stolichnaya vodkas have been produced and bottled for more than 65 years. The spirit is made from a single source of grain harvested from SPI Group’s Raduga farming operation in Tambov, Russia, where the land is so fertile that it is farmed without fertilisers or pesticides. The blend is rich and flavourful, and filtered with a freeze-filtration process at -18 degrees Celsius.
SPI Group and the elit by Stolichnaya brand then worked with JDO Brand Design & Innovation to create the bottle and its packaging. It was released at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, France, to October connect it underline the importance of global travel retail to unique vodkas like this. Only 250 bottles are available globally.
The limited edition vodka comes in a hand-cut crystal bottle by Glencairn Crystal, one of the world’s leading crystal houses, designed to refract light and enhance the liquid’s clarity. Every bottle is numbered and sealed with a silver medallion overlaid with gold and crowned with a ruby depicting the elit by Stolichnaya flame.
The bottle is then nestled in a sustainable Chilean Black Cherry wood case that is lined with leather. JDO took inspiration from the native woods and the metal textile designs of the local Mapuche tribe who attribute their great health to Colico Lake’s pure water.
Ilse Wolfe, global brand manager, elit by Stolichnaya, commented, “The final elit pristine water series needed to be the ultimate expression of the elit by Stolichnaya brand and JDO has managed to capture this perfectly with their beautiful and impactful design.”
JDO creative director, Paul Drake, added, “It’s not often that you get the opportunity to work on such a prestigious brief and with such beautiful materials. We feel that we’ve truly been able to tell the story of this Andean edition elit pristine water series.”
