The bar ‘Drings’ at The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel is very proud to present Ed Hardy Vodka, a new vodka within the present exclusive collection of vodkas at Drings, presented next to popular vodka brands like Roberto Cavalli, Absolut, Diva, Puriste and many more.

Distilled and filtered five times for purity first, this vodka is completed with the infusion of proprietary natural flavorings for a distinct character. Offering vodka fans a smooth unmatched taste of their favorite liquor, this vodka from Ed Hardy is sure to be a big hit.

Every bottle is hand made by skillful glass makers who bring to life the concept and designs of the brand. The tall, rectangular distinct bottles with the signature Ed Hardy tattoos are already fetching $30 on eBay (what’s more, they are completely empty bottles)! Imported from France, this exquisite vodka promises to offer your taste buds an experience like never before. For vodka-lovers definitely a new experience, for Ed Hardy fans: a new product for their collection? Sit back and Enjoy Pure Pleasure.

Visit www.edhardybeverages.com

Vodka, the dominant spirit of Eastern Europe, is becoming more and more popular among bars and its guests around the globe. One does experience a clear ‘hype’ regarding this spirit, which encouraged us to explain the spirit, providing our readers with some interesting sites and also promoting the over 40 vodka brands at our bar ‘Drings’ at ‘The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel’.

Vodka is made by fermenting and then distilling the sugars from a mash of pale grain or vegetal matter. Vodka is produced from grain, potatoes, molasses, beets and a variety of other plants. Rye and wheat are the classic grains for vodka, with most of the Russian vodkas being made from wheat although in Poland they are mostly made from a rye mash. Swedish and Baltic distillers are partial to wheat mashes.

Since vodka tends to be a neutral spirit, it lends itself to blending with flavors and fortifying other beverages. In the 19th century, high-proof ‘russian spirit’ was held in high esteem by sherry producers in Spain, who imported it to fortify their wines.

Flavored vodkas have been produced from the start, originally to mask the flavour of the first primitive vodkas, but later as a mark of the distillers skill. The Russian and Poles in particular still market dozens of flavors, some of the better known types are:

Kubanskaya, vodka flavoured with an infusion of dried lemon and orange peels. Zubrovka, vodka flavoured with buffalo grass, an aromatic grass favored by the herds of the rare European bison. Starka, also called ‘old vodka’, which can be infused with everything from fruit tree leaves to brandy, port, Malaga wine and dried fruit. Some brands are aged in oak casks. Pertsovka, pepper-flavored vodka, made with black peppercorns and red chilli peppers.

Where is vodka produced? Although the countries in Eastern Europe are famous for their vodkas, you also see an upcoming trend in countries like United Kingdom (Eristoff), the Netherlands (Ketel One, Effen, P.I.N.K., Van Gogh Vodka), Germany (Magic Crystal), in winemaking regions in France (Ciroc, Citadelle) and Italy (Roberto Cavalli), the US (Glacier, Purus, SKYY, Savvy, Square One – organic vodka) and Canada (Crystal Head, Pearl, Iceberg) produce non-flavored vodka, countries in the Caribbean and South America produce an amazing amount of vodkas (Amazon vodka from Brazil, Espiritu de Cana Vodka from El Salvador, Grandmaster Vodka from Trinidad and Tobago), all of it from molasses and Asia has a smattering of local vodkas, with the best coming from Japan (Kissui, Wokka Saki).

The history and significance of vodka…..the story is told that in A.D. 988 the Grand Prince of Kiev in what is now Ukraine decided that it was time for his people to convert from their pagan ways to one of the monotheistic religions that held sway in the civilized countries to the south. First came the Jewish rabbis. He listened to their arguments, was impressed, but ultimately sent them away after remarking that the followers of Judaism did not control any land. Next came the Moslem mullahs. Again he was impressed, both with their intellectual arguments and the success of Islam as a political and military force, but when he was told that Islam proscribed alcohol he was dismayed and sent them away. Finally the Christian priests came who informed him that not only could good Christians drink alcohol, but that wine was actually required for church rituals such as communion. That was good enough for the Grand Prince, and on his command his subjects converted en masse to Christianity.
The point of this historical anecdote is that the Slavic peoples of the north and their Scandinavian neighbours took alcoholic drinks very seriously. The extreme cold temperatures of winter inhibited the shipment of wines and beers, as these relatively low- proof beverages could freeze during transit. Until the introduction of distilling into Eastern Europe in the 1400s, strong drink was made by fermenting strong wines, meads, and beers, freezing them, and then drawing off the alcoholic slush from the frozen water.

The earliest distilled spirit in Eastern Europe was distilled from mead (honey wine) or beer and was called ‘perevara’. Vodka (from the Russian word ‘voda’, meaning water) was originally used to describe grain distillates that were used for medicinal purposes. As distilling techniques improved Vodka (Wodka in Polish) gradually came to be the accepted term for beverage spirit, regardless of its origin.

The worldwide web shows, besides numerous websites of the different vodka brands and vodka suppliers, some interesting and nice sites on vodka. Some examples are:

www.ivodka.com
the largest and most visited vodka information site. Here you find the diverse vodkas per country and per supplier. Keeps you really updated with regards to the ‘world of vodkas’.

www.vodka.com
a new website where one can become part of the first vodka community on the web.

www.vodkacocktailrecipes.com
a very nice site where one may find a large variety of vodka cocktails and corresponding recipes.

www.vodka-drinks.com
a site that features some nice vodka cocktails
and drinks but also explains how one can
produce its own vodka.

www.luxist.com
shows a nice posting on 7 of the craziest luxury vodkas.

www.drinkunique.com
shows a few nice and interesting postings on vodka.

At The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel we operate a unique vodka bar called Drings, one of Vienna’s hottest day- and nightspots and since the opening in November 2007, Vienna’s most favourite vodka bar. Drings really comes ‘alive’ at night when guests do experience the unique selection of vodkas, at the moment more than 40. Take the brand ‘DIVA’, the first vodka that is filtered with bort, the brand ‘Kaufmann Privat Collection’ from Russia, ‘Absolut Level’ from Sweden, produced with the special ‘batch distillation’ and therefore ‘Absolut Perfection’, ‘Xellent’ from Switzerland, ‘Puriste’ from Austria or the ‘Roberto Cavalli Luxury’, the first vodka produced in Italy by the famous designer Roberto Cavalli. Experience ‘Heavy Water’ from Norway, where the ingredient water comes from a down-earth see…pure as it is. Taste ‘Siwucha’ from Poland, a very unique vodka and not that easy to get, ‘Siriously’ from Sweden where the design of the bottle is pure art, the unique brand ‘Monopolowa’ from Austria made from Austrian potatoes or ‘Mernaya’ from Ukraine which is produced out of bread.

Of course ‘Drings’ serves more than just only vodkas…..come and see what else we have, from usual to unusual drinks and cocktails…welcome to the world of vodka…welcome to ‘Drings’.

www.drings-bar.com
www.theringhotel.com

February, 2009 New York, NY – Today, Steele Travel announces the details of their Life Ball 2009 travel experience. Steele Travel has been selected as the exclusive North American tour operator in providing access to the Life Ball, Europe’s, and quite possibly, the world’s most extravagant HIV and AIDS benefit held annually in Vienna, Austria. Celebrating the beauty of life and the diversity of world cultures, Life Ball reinvents the great Viennese Ball tradition with glamorous, outlandish performances and inspirational speeches. It attracts huge interest in the media and is broadcast live on Austrian National TV prime time, with delayed airing in Germany. To date the Life Ball has raised over € 10.5 million. It is the only AIDS charity event to take place in a government building. In 2008, the event raised € 1.4 million in one single night.

Steele Travelers will be treated to a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience when joining the Life Ball Experience. On May 14, 2009, passengers meet at JFK’s international airport to board their private VIP chartered Austrian Airlines jet bound for Vienna. This plane has been reconfigured to offer each passenger extra space along with business class cuisine and service for all on board. The Life Ball party plane is exclusively reserved for celebrities and members of the press. However, Steele Travel has received a limited number of seats on this plane available for sale to the public.

Once in Vienna, Steele Travelers are welcomed via red carpet service and are whisked off to The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel (www.theringhotel.com) for two nights, the official hotel partner of Steele Luxury Travel for the Life Ball 2009. Over the course of the weekend, Vienna’s city hall is transformed into a themed setting of water, Life Ball’s theme for 2009. In the previous years each Life Ball presented itself thematically very different. This year though the team surrounding Gery Keszler, the creator of The Life Ball, decided to develop a concept valid for the next four years – “The four Elements of Life Ball:” – starting with the 17th Life Ball on May 16th, 2009 and concluding with the 20th edition, the jubilee ball in 2012. In the centre of the artistic implementation are the elements water, earth, air and fire. Powerful archaic symbols but still enormously progressive in their value. The audience can expect a vast number of opulent surprises – a grand part of the opening ceremony production of the coming Life Ball will happen on, by and in water. This way the show in front of Vienna’s City Hall strongly emphasises the elemental force of water and its central value for life itself. The opening’s grand finale is a glittering fashion show – so far Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, Roberto Cavalli, Gianfranco Ferré, Missoni, Moschino, Agent Provocateur among others have presented their creations at the Life Ball.

The rare and hard-to-obtain Life Ball tickets are included with each package purchase. On Sunday, May 17, passengers will once again board the luxury Austrian Airlines jetliner headed back to New York. Steele Travel is offering this package at an all-inclusive price of €1,999 per person. A pre-departure orientation dinner will be held at New York’s famous Paris Commune restaurant one week before departure for all Life Ball participants.

Dane Steele Green, President and CEO of Steele Luxury Travel, says “We are extremely honored to have been offered the opportunity to work exclusively with The Life Ball. Not only is this an event of a lifetime to attend; participants are simultaneously supporting a great cause. We are thrilled to be able to bring the Life Ball closer to our US customers. Proceeds from this trip will partially go to The Life Ball to support their cause and efforts.”

The Life Ball is organized by AIDS LIFE, an independent non-profit organization, created with the objective to raise money to support people in areas of the world most affected by HIV and AIDS. In 2008, a record result of 1.4 million US-Dollars was raised. In 2007 an additional 1 million US-Dollars was generated at the Dinner Gala with Bill Clinton the night before Life Ball 2007. Half of the raised funds go to national relief projects and half go to international organizations in support of HIV/AIDS treatment, research and prevention.

Steele Luxury Travel is a new travel concept designed to offer an alternative to traditional vacationing. Steele Travelers experience the ultimate in first-class lodging, excursions, and exclusive event access. Steele’s gay friendly travel packages for 2009 include a sailing through Sardinia and Corsica aboard an 18-passenger 125-foot mega sail yacht, a visit to Istanbul and Bodrum in Turkey, the Mykonos Island Villa Escape where a compound made of up 3 villas becomes home to 21 Steele Travelers. Other destinations include a November trip to Buenos Aires and Punta del Este as well as a trip through South Africa over New Year’s 2010. Steele Luxury Travel will pamper you with amenities and services beyond first class. Live Your Indulgence.

For more information on the Life Ball or to make your reservation, visit www.SteeleTravel.com/lifeball.html or call 646-688-2274.