Russia’s #1 Luxury Vodka is flowing at the Bryant Park Tents and exclusive VIP Parties
throughout Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week




NEW YORK, February 4, 2008 – IMPERIA Vodka, Russia’s #1 luxury vodka and the official vodka of Fashion Week, debuts the exclusive custom-built IMPERIA Lounge at the Bryant Park Tents for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week beginning on Friday, February 1st and running thru Friday, February 8th. The IMPERIA Lounge is open to all Fashion Week attendees during afternoon and evening runway shows. Attended by buyers for major stores, the media, fashion stylists, and celebrities, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has become the center of the fashion and entertainment world. More than 60 leading designers will showcase their Spring 2008 collections at this season’s shows.

IMPERIA cocktails including the IMPERIA VODKA MOJITO and IMPERIA VODKA ON THE ROCKS will be served daily at the IMPERIA Lounge, which offers attendees a space to relax before and after shows. IMPERIA will also host private receptions in the lounge for some of ths season’s hottest designers. IMPERIA cocktails will also be served at the Lotus Bar as well as at invitation-only lounges – the Mercedes-Benz Lounge, IMG Lounge, and W Lounge.

“IMPERIA has brought the brand to new heights with the first ever IMPERIA Lounge, allowing attendees to experience the over the top Russian Maximalist lifestyle, complete with chandeliers and Oriental rugs all inspired by acclaimed Russian designer Denis Simechev,” said Drew Beaver, Global Marketing Director for Russian Standard Vodka USA. “IMPERIA’s continued involvement with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week further highlights the brand’s commitment to the fashion community.”

Beyond its presence at the Bryant Park Tents, IMPERIA has been selected as the exclusive vodka at some of the most anticipated invitation-only bashes during New York Fashion Week including a soiree at Prada as well as a celebration for Nicole Miller and Russian designer Alexander Terexov.

IMPERIA’s presence at New York Fashion Week speaks to the brand’s longstanding commitment to the global fashion community going back to the memorable launch on Liberty Island in 2005. In 2007, IMPERIA was the exclusive vodka of Fashion Weeks in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami and was served at some of the hottest after-parties including Proenza Schouler and Narciso Rodriguez. IMPERIA also sponsored the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show After-Party. In December IMPERIA made a splash at the glamorous Art Basel Miami Beach with the Russia Miami Exhibit and Visionaire’s Sound Issue Party at the Delano Hotel.

In addition, IMPERIA vodka continues to support film and entertainment industry. The brand was featured in an episode of the HBO hit show The Sopranos and supported the grand opening of the Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas with a concert featuring a performance by Diana Ross.

Distilled and bottled in St. Petersburg, IMPERIA’s premium caliber is grounded on the perfect marriage of both Russia’s fabled heritage and its 21st century dynamism. IMPERIA starts with the highest grade of winter wheat from the black soil of the Russian Steppes and is meticulously distilled eight times—four times above the industry average for luxury grade spirit—and then blended with the softest glacial waters from Lake Lagoda. The liquid is then filtered twice through charcoal and twice again through quartz crystals from the Ural Mountains. This process produces a vodka with the fewest impurities on the market and gives IMPERIA its crystal clear, velvety smooth taste.

About Russian Standard Vodka

Russian Standard Vodka is the global leader in authentic Russian premium vodka. The Russian Standard vodka portfolio dominates the premium segment in Russia with a 60 percent market share and sales of over 1.9 million cases per year in Russia and 48 export markets across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Roustam Tariko, the founder of Russian Standard, introduced Russian Standard Original in 1998 as the first authentic Russian premium vodka. Russian Standard vodkas are made with only the finest Russian ingredients, conforming to the formula for vodka established in 1894 by famed Russian scientist Dimitri Mendeleev for Russia’s Czars. Two years after launch, sales of Russian Standard Original surpassed all imported premium vodkas on the Russian market, leading to broad international expansion and the launch of Russian Standard Platinum in 2001, and Imperia Vodka, the company's luxury brand, in 2004.