Word: moscow
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Every August, Nikolai Gusev juices hundreds of unwashed apples which grow at his dacha, west of Moscow. For a month he waits patiently for the juice to ferment and turn into a wine. He then distills the mixture, and stores the remaining liquid in a barrel for several months. The result is a highly potent drink (45% alcoholic), with an apple aftertaste which is the favorite tipple of his friends. "I had too many apples at my dacha and instead of throwing them away I wanted to do something with them, for me making moonshine is just a little...
...from what most Russians think of moonshine, a time-dishonored pastime in a country where alcohol poisoning has helped lead to a population decline. In January, The Moscow Times reported that the reason for so many deaths is that 300 million liters of substances never intended for human consumption are drunk annually - these include perfume, aftershave, and cleaning liquids. Many shops sell contraband vodka which is made from a combination of those liquids and water. (See a story about 21st Century American moonshine...
Gusev is a completely different kind of moonshiner. He is one of Moscow's best-known guitar makers. His underground workshop is a short walk from Red Square and is filled with pieces of elegantly curved wood from disassembled instruments. The tiny bottle of moonshine sits on a shelf not far from his tools. Unlike the stereotypical moonshine (or samogon, as it's called in Russian), Gusev distills boutique and artisanal spirits, joining the country's homebrew renaissance. He doesn't need to do it. He is educated employed and has access to high-quality alcohol...
...Moscow this won't make a difference," explains Vadim Drobiz the director of the Federal and Regional Center of Alcohol Market Research. "Moscow is the only city where people can afford to regularly buy high quality alcohol. But in the regions this will be a big problem." He explains, "In rural Russia 100 rubles for a bottle of vodka is expensive, and they will drink something else, what I don't know." According to Drobiz 45% of the vodka on sale is contraband and retails below 50 rubles ($1.50) for half a liter. "I hope that for their sake villages...
...things to do in Moscow...