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COMING SOON TO keyport, nj

ABOUT US

Our distillery is based off of a family tradition that started during the soft prohibition era in the Soviet Union during the 1980's.

Using a family recipe, our distillery will feature vodkas, gins and more made in-house and served to you in our tasting room. Enjoy a tour and the beautiful Keyport waterfront.

Many propaganda posters discouraging alcoholism cropped up in the 80's in Russia.

THE STORY

Have you ever heard about the Gorbachev’s soft prohibition?

In 1986, the leader of the Soviet Union, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, made the most ludicrous to put a soft prohibition on alcohol - the very thing Russian people are stereo-typically known to love.

V.O. Pashenko, 1981. "This is a shameful union - a slacker + vodka!"

Unlike America’s complete ban on alcohol, Gorbachev’s soft prohibition allowed a ration of up to two bottles a month. This may sound reasonable on the surface, but a Soviet citizen, on average, drank almost a bottle a person - per day!

However, similar to America’s ban, the soft prohibition brought forth an age of home distillation, and it may not be surprising to hear that making alcohol at home was very illegal and very dangerous. Even so, this didn’t do anything to stop the influx of home distillers.

V. Zharinov, 1977. "Drunkenness won't be tolerated!"

Introducing: our grandfather and eternal badass, Oleg Pichenikin. Where do we even begin? This rebellious individual built a phone tapping machine for fun and listened in on official government phones, as well as a radio taking up almost the entire flat - just so he could listen to American news. Instead of putting him in jail, his ingenuity landed him a high-ranking government position as a mechanic.

When the soft prohibition came into effect, Oleg didn’t hesitate to distill. He used a recipe handed down in the family based on the one food that was always plentiful: split peas. Oleg’s split pea spirit was carefully crafted, and unsurprisingly, people came to prefer his moonshine to the government supplied stuff.

Oleg Pichenikin and his daughter.

Sadly, we didn’t grow up knowing the man, but through our grandmother, we have his recipe, and with it, a piece of him.

Our flagship spirit distilled from split peas follows our grandfather’s specifications. The liquor is not a vodka, as everyone expects, but a whiskey that pays homage to both our company’s and grandfather’s rebellious spirit.

Enjoy a dram, reminisce on an adventurous past, and think about how lucky we are now. Na zdorovya!

People crowd a doorway in order to get their allotted ration of alcohol.