One of the Ukraine’s oldest distilleries revived by filmmaker, vodka now on UK shelves
The Zorokovich vodka distillery, once owned by Ilya Zorokovich, was seized in the chaos of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and was struggling to survive when filmmaker Dan Edelstyn, who was visiting the country to rediscover his roots, stumbled on it in 2005. Realising that his great grandfather once owned it, Edelstyn worked tirelessly for two years to revive the business by launching a new vodka brand named after his ancestors.
The impoverished village was also crying out for a new lease of life and Edelstyn’s mission to rebuild the distillery is aiming to provide local people with jobs, security and a solid community.
If popular it will restore the distillery to full production, connecting the village with a potentially lucrative international market place, bringing increased prosperity back to the village of Douboviazovka.
But what about the vodka? Zorokovich 1917 is a vodka of the highest quality which comes from the grain of the breadbasket of Europe. It’s made from carefully selected Ukrainian winter wheat.
“The vision of re-establishing the family business was born to be a social enterprise,” explains Edelstyn. “It’s about connecting a forgotten village in Northeastern Ukraine to a potential international vodka market to hopefully produce more jobs, schools, healthcare and housing. In the process we have developed this great product which I hope Selfridges customers will enjoy!”
As a passionate filmmaker it’s not surprising that Edelstyn has filmed every step of the journey and his story. ‘How to Re-establish a Vodka Empire’, can be currently be viewed at www.babelgum.com/vodkaempire and is due to be shown as a feature documentary on More4 early 2011.
Launch Party
Dan and his production team are hosting an official launch of Zorokovich 1917 at Aura Mayfair, Friday 10th December, 4pm – 7pm. Footage from the launch party will be included in the final feature production.