Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/46939
BRAND PROFILE The Chopin distillery Music Palate for the by Robert Plotkin CHOPIN VODKA EXPANDS ITS FRANCHISE WITH NEW BACKBAR CLASSICS W 76 / the tasting panel / november 201 1 hile other brands come and go, Chopin Polish Vodka has been permanently affi xed atop the category since its debut in the United States in 1997. Nearly 15 years is a long time to remain a bestseller. Dana Chandler, Vice President and General Manager of Chopin Imports Ltd., knows why: "Many luxury vodka brands purchase alcohol from commercial producers and then redistill or rectify it. Not so for Chopin. We control every step of its production, which is the only way we can guarantee the best tasting, highest quality spirit. And that we do." The super-premium brand has recently expanded its franchise with the debut of two extraordinary single-ingredient vodkas—Chopin Wheat and Chopin Rye. Like the brand's potato vodka, each is a museum-grade spirit crafted in the centuries-old Polish tradition. Chopin is made on a 17-acre estate in the countryside of the Podlasie region in eastern Poland. The newest release—Chopin Wheat Vodka—is distilled four times in a copper column still from naturally grown winter wheat and water drawn from deep underground wells. The vodka is fi ltered fi ve times to ensure essential purity prior to being bottled at 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof). Every step of production is