The latest premium vodka to hit the U.S. is from Russia. Imperia uses winter wheat from the black soil of the Russian Steppes,distilled eight times and blended with the glacial waters from Lake Lagoda. The liquid is then filtered twice through charcoal and twice again through quartz crystals from the Ural Mountains. The Imperia formula is based on Dmitri Mendeleev's original formula, decreed by Czar Alexander III in 1894 as "The Standard of Vodka."  The Imperia brand was launched in Russia in 2004. The vodka sells for $35 for 750 ml. The vodka was recently launched here in the States this week with a model-studded party at the base of the Statue of Liberty.