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SPI Group, owner of elit by Stolichnaya, has released its new limited edition vodka, elit pristine water series: The New Zealand Edition. It is the second offering in the series and comprises only 300 bottles for global distribution.
The elit pristine water series from Stolichnaya is 40% abv (80 proof), retails for US$3,000 per limited edition bottle, and was showcased in selected markets leading up its global launch at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes last week. Duty free and travel retailers can order the product following the launch.
After sourcing water from the Himalayas for the first edition in this series, Stolichnaya says it focused on a New Zealand “jewel”, its Blue Spring, for the second. The Blue Spring is hailed as one of the purest water sources in the world. Acclaimed for exceptional clarity and blue hues, the water is naturally filtered through pumice in the country’s Mamaku Ranges said to have been formed millions of years ago.
Stolichnaya said the rarefied water was combined with the “most exceptional” Russian Alpha Spirit at the Latvijas Balzams distillery in Latvia, producers and bottlers of Stolichnaya vodkas for more than 65 years.
The blend, rich in character and flavour, is then filtered in the same way as elit with a freeze-filtration process at -18˚C.
Stolichnaya commissioned Royale de Champagne, the 135-year-old French crystal studio renowned for its commitment to exacting standards and organic beauty, to handcraft a one-of-a-kind bottle for The New Zealand Edition. It is wrapped with a leather cuff emulating the New Zealand silver fern, galvanized in jewellery-grade palladium and sealed with a palladium closure.
The case is handcrafted from ancient Kauri wood native to New Zealand. This rare wood, preserved within New Zealand’s remote Northland, is said to be the oldest workable wood in the world. At 45,000 years old, it is regarded as “one of nature’s finest works of art”. The natural wood has been complemented with a fern etching inspired by the unfurled “koru,” symbolising new life, growth, strength and peace.
As part of the unveiling of the elit pristine water series: The New Zealand edition, elit by Stolichnaya has continued its partnership with Oceana, an international organisation working solely to protect the world’s oceans. “Gaining access to the most impeccably fresh water sources requires a unique partner and to celebrate, elit by Stolichnaya will contribute towards the great projects that Oceana undertakes on behalf of the world’s oceans, coinciding with the release of the of the second limited edition offering,” the brand stated.
