Smirnoff's roots go back to 1864, when Pyotr Smirnov founded a Moscow distillery to produce vodka. His innovative approach, using charcoal filtration to purify his product, made it a fast hit. Charitable donations to the church in exchange for them making fewer anti-vodka sermons also helped his growth and in a little over 10 years controlled two thirds of the market in Moscow.
In 1904, fleeing the Bolshevik revolution, the Smirnov family left the country and eventually re-established their distillery in Poland under the new name Smirnoff. The brand did not take off again until it was marketed in the US as a new "white whiskey" with "no taste, no smell". That growth has continued and today Smirnoff is not only the best selling vodka, but also the best selling distilled spirit in the world. |
