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SPIRIT
ARCHIVES, LIQUOR EXPERT: JEFFREY POGASH |
VODKA:
The Untold Story (Part II)
by Jeffrey Pogash |
In a 1950's promotional pamphlet, G.F. Heublein & Bros. of Hartford, Connecticut talks about "America's new drink," Smirnoff vodka:
Until the war, Vodka was drink understood by the American people. The traditional Russian liquor was widely believed to be a fiery Cossack counterpart of white mule … with a kick to match. But America has now discovered the truth - that Vodka as made by Smirnoff in the traditional 80 Proof strength, is an exceedingly smooth drink of very moderate alcoholic content.
Slowly but surely, Americans began to acquaint themselves with vodka, some being brave enough to drink it neat, others frozen, and an even larger percentage of consumers opting to use it in cocktails. The Vodka Martini, Vodka Manhattan, Tovarisch Cocktail and Vodka Collins are some of the mixed drinks whose recipes were cited in the pamphlet. It goes on to say that:
Smirnoff vodka is often preferred in mixed drinks where gin has been customarily used. Because it is colorless and extremely delicate in flavor and aroma, it mixes perfectly … loses itself in the other ingredients … and leaves little after-taste or after-breath.
G.F. Heublein & Bro. began the aggressive marketing of Smirnoff immediately after the company bought the brand from Russian immigrant Rudolph Kunett in 1939, for a bargain basement price of $14,000. In the late 1940s or the early 1950s, Heublein decided that promoting cocktails (mixed drinks) would be the best way to sell cases of vodka in large quantities. In conjunction with a Los Angeles tavern called The Cock 'N Bull, John Martin, president of Heublein, crated a drink called the Moscow Mule, about 1-1/2 to 2oz. of Smirnoff topped off with ginger beer and served over ice in a copper mug which made the concoction icy cold and very a palatable. The drink was successful and made in-roads for Smirnoff, but it wasn't until 1950 that things began to taken when Heublein discovered and began promoting a drink that has since become a household name, the Screwdriver, a refreshing mixture of vodka and orange juice served with ice cubes. The marketers could see that mixed drinks were kick-starting sales and an entire campaign was created featuring the Screwdriver and another relatively unknown drink called the Bloody Mary. It is possible, even fairly certain, that without the promotional and advertising campaigns launched by Smirnoff in the 1950s, the Bloody Mary and Screwdriver would not be the blockbusters that they are today and have been for the past fifty years.
To make their campaign even more seductive, Heublein began using celebrities in their print ads of the 1960s and 1970s. Gypsy Ross Lee ("Gypsy"), Woody Allen, singer Julie London, comedian Buddy ?Hackett, Broadway star Robert Goulet, lyricist Moss Hart, along with actors Cyril Ritchard and George Sanders, were just a few of the famous names from stage, screen, and television who lent their names and faces to Smirnoff print ads, helping to make the brand famous from coast-to-coast.
In 1966 Heublein targeted gin by launching a $2 million campaign stating that a truly dry gin martini cannot be made with gin but only with Smirnoff because of the vodka's charcoal filtration. This campaign was dubbed, the "Martini Revolution" And was directed toward both the traditional gin martini drinker and the young drinker who had not yet formed his or her drinking habits. It is also important to keep in mind that this was 1966, a time when social values were in flux. This was the era of the "hippy," a time of cultural revolution in the United States, as old ideas were being rejected and replaced by anything new and different. Vodka was a novelty and was creating upheaval in the world of alcoholic beverages, making it "revolutionary" in its own right.
The spirit was quickly embraced by this new generation of drinks and volume swelled. Soon surpassing gin and by 1975, overtaking the sacred category of bourbon. Vodka's relentless march to stardom had paid off. It was now (and still is) America's favorite spirit.
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