kazakhstan

Epicures Rejoice - UN Lifts Beluga Caviar Ban

Filed under: Dining

The world's finest beluga caviar will be available once again following an agreement by five producer countries on export quotas for the luxe delicacy, the United Nations' watchdog on endangered species has announced. Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan agreed at a meeting in Tehran on new quotas which will be in effect through February 2011, the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species said in a statement. A temporary ban on wild caviar was imposed in 2001 due to a depletion of stocks amid high levels of poaching and illegal trade in the Caspian Sea. In 2002, countries sharing a stock of sturgeon automatically had zero quotas unless they reached a consensus on a sustainable level of exports. Trade in beluga was halted last year as the countries failed to agree on quotas. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan still have zero quotas, but Iran can now produce 800 kg, Kazakhstan 1,500 kg, and Russia 700 kg. Expect it to cost a small fortune if you're lucky enough to get your hands on some.

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Tags: beluga caviar, Caspian Sea, caviar, delicacy, endangered species, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, sturgeon, United Nations

Russian Man Builds His Own Rolls-Royce Phantom

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

What to do if you can't afford a brand new Rolls-Royce Phantom? If you're a 24-year-old mechanic from Kazakhstan you simply make your own. Ruslan Mukanov, who hails from Borat's homeland, crafted the impressive looking faux Phantom above from some plaster, fiberglass and an old Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The parts cost him a grand total of about $3,000, including the only authentic item on the whole vehicle, an actual Rolls-Royce emblem. The acceleration's a bit sluggish and authorities weren't quite convinced it was roadworthy, but the Benz's 3.0-litre diesel engine gets a lot better mileage than the real deal. Young Mukanov obviously has the makings of a future oligarch.

Tags: Kazakhstan, Rolls-Royce, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Rolls-roycePhantom, Russia

Diamond VIP Credit Card

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

The Eurasian Bank in Kazakhstan has come up with a very glamorous way of honoring their VIP members: they're issuing them limited edition VISA cards embedded with diamonds and accented with gold.

Said to be the first of its kind in the world, the card is reserved only for the elite few members of the bank that have incomes of $300,000 a year or greater. The cards have an elaborate gold filigree design in the shape of a heart that features a 0.02 carat diamond in the center.

Crazy.

Via Bornrich

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Tags: bank, credit, credit card, credit cards, CreditCard, CreditCards, kazakhstan, visa

Snow Queen Vodka Expands After Awards

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Snow Queen, the organic vodka from Kazakhstan with a fantastical flair, is expanding its U.S. distribution following two big wins at the recent 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Snow Queen, which was awarded both Top Vodka honors as well as a Double Gold Medal at the event, has only been available in a handful of states since its introduction to the U.S. in 2006. It is now being sold in California for the first time as well as others and plans to be available nationwide by the end of the year.

Made with organic wheat and pure spring water from the foothills of the Himalayas, Kazakh birch charcoal is employed in the vodka's five time distillation process. That makes it one of the highest distilled vodkas on the market making for an enviable purity and smoothness in the finished product.

Just in case that isn't enough for some people, Snow Queen has also made a name for itself by throwing fancy parties featuring busty babes like Carmen Electra and its signature snow bunnies.

Gallery: Snow Queen Vodka

Tags: Carmen Electra, CarmenElectra, Kazakhstan, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, SanFranciscoWorldSpiritsCompetition, Snow Queen Vodka, SnowQueenVodka, Vodka

Will Kazakhstan Be The New Vegas?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

It seems almost like a late April's Fool's Day joke but it's true, Kazak authorities are pondering a gambling and entertainment complex near the city of Almaty. The BBC reports that President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said that he had long thought of building a version of Las Vegas on a steppe outside the city. A desert gambling oasis may help control gambling inside the major cities. Almaty alone has nearly 40 casinos. Nazarbayev wants to shift that action to the shores of Lake Kapchegai around 50 miles away (Vegas with a beach). While the article references the rise of gambling in Asian countries it doesn't mention that another aspirant to the Vegas throne, the Cotai Strip in Macau which already has attracted major hotel and retail interest and has massive Vegas-style hotels under construction. Now if Steve Wynn shows up in Kazakhstan then we'll know it's really going somewhere.

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Tags: asia, central asia, gambling, kazakhstan, las vegas, macao, macau