February 07, 2022

Tipple Tender Trending


Tipple Tender Trending
Approximately $20 of vodka, in Russia. The Russian Life file

Here's some news about booze that won't make you want to snooze: the minimum prices for drinks over 28% alcohol by volume (ABV) have been increased starting in late January 2022, thanks to a new order from Russia's Ministry of Finance.

At retail, vodka, the least expensive drink, will now cost you R261 ($3.37) per half-liter; brandy, R348 ($4.50); and cognac, R480 ($6.20).

The Ministry of Finance periodically updates the minimum prices for hard liquor, and has been doing so since 2007, so that consumers will be discouraged from buying low-quality (and sometimes dangerous / humor-inducing) homemade stuff.

Although we can't necessarily recommend that our readers give three-dollar vodka a try, this move makes us wonder how cheap vodka can actually get.

 

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The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

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