roustam tariko

Russian Standard Vodka Carries New Proof of Origin

Filed under: Spirits

Do you like your vodka Russian? If Russian provenance is important to you, Russian Standard vodka wants you to know its 100% Russian. The Russian Federation has ruled that to be labeled a Russian vodka, all ingredients must be grown, distilled, and bottled in Russia and Russian Standard Vodka is one of the first vodkas in the U.S. that will carry a special label with a unique number declaring its 100% Russian provenance.

"We are proud to display our Certificate of Origin as a guarantee of Russian Standard Vodka's quality and provenance," said Roustam Tariko, founder and president of Russian Standard Vodka in a press release. "In today's world, consumers value authenticity and production origin highly in their choice of brands. Just as superb French and Italian products are awarded Appellation d'origine controlee and Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or a Cuban cigar holds the coveted Habanos D.O.P., Russia, the homeland of vodka, also must guarantee its national drink. Our Certification of Origin will help vodka lovers distinguish Russian Standard from the many vodka brands that pretend to be Russian, but are not."

Tags: roustam tariko, russian standard, vodka

George Clooney Not Selling His Italian Villa

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

We can't resist a good real estate rumor and this is a hot one. The Telegraph is just one of the sources reporting that George Clooney is putting Villa Oleander, his home on Lake Como in Italy on the market and that soccer star David Beckham is battling Russian vodka billionaire Roustam Tariko to buy the home. The home is supposedly quietly on the market for around 30 million euros. Clooney bought the home in 2001 for around 7 million euros. After Clooney bought the home, real estate in the prestigious vacation area spiked, the so-called Clooney effect.

The Beckhams borrowed the home last year but it really doesn't look like they'll be moving in. Clooney has released a statement denying the fact that the home is for sale and dashing the rumor that he planned to move to a small island in order to foil paparazzi. In his typical humor the statement says in part: "the story was made up, then picked up and now denied. End of another riveting day of false news."

Tags: david beckham, DavidBeckham, george clooney, GeorgeClooney, lake como, LakeComo, roustam tariko, RoustamTariko, villa oleander, VillaOleander

Blogging from the Luxury Summit: the Recession, the Russian and the Icon

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events

In a world where the economy is an everyday concern, the luxury market is worried. Not overly worried, since as we've seen, the very high-end of the market remains secure but the recession was a factor in every panel held by the Luxury Summit. One of the strongest messages we keep hearing is that today's rich are not yesterday's rich; they are "middle class between the ears (not thinking rich)."

Certainly, we've lost the meaning of luxury but overall luxury is in the eye of the beholder, one man's luxury is another man's necessity. One of the hidden benefits of hard times is that they help to define luxury, for example a $500,000 ski condo is having a hard time selling right now but a $2 million ski condo is an easy sell. What was perhaps most interesting at this conference is watching the juxtaposition between stories of extreme luxury spending, fears of a recession and the theme of the conference: philanthropy. In this second post from the Luxury Summit held by American Express Publishing at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village, CA I will look at some recent statistics regarding the wealthy, see my first real live Russian billionaire and pay homage to the one and only Diane Von Furstenberg.

Tags: american express, diane von furstenberg, DianeVonFurstenberg, expire-images2009-4-15, luxury summit, LuxurySummit, roustam tariko, RoustamTariko

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