Shustov

The Shustov dynasty is inextricably linked with the history of cognac production in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Moldova. On the threshold of the XNUMXth century, the success of the N. Shustov and Sons was unprecedented: after winning the Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Paris, the Shustovs received the right to label their products with the word cognac, even though they were not produced in the Cognac region. Today, cognacs with almost identical names are produced by two companies in the post-Soviet space.

The trade mark “Shustov” belongs to the Odessa Cognac Factory, which is part of the international alcohol holding Global Spirits. OKZ, founded in 1863, is the oldest cognac producer in Ukraine. Its assortment portfolio includes ordinary, vintage and collection cognacs: Shustov, anniversary line Shustov-150, ESTE, Arcadia, Jubilee, Golden Duke, Odessa. Cognac spirits exclusively of our own production are used for their production.

The enterprise is considered one of the largest in Europe, its capacity allows to smoke up to 3 million decaliters of wine materials per day. Cognacs are produced according to the classical French technology, which involves the distillation of our own cognac spirits, the use of Charente alambiques, and the aging of distillates in oak barrels from 3 to 50 years. The Odessa plant has significant areas of vineyards. In OKZ nurseries, elite grape varieties are grown, which Nikolai Shustov once used for production: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Aligote, Rhine Riesling. For steadfast adherence to traditions, the plant was awarded the prestigious award of the European Business Assembly – a special prize and the status of “The Best Cognac Enterprise in Europe”.

The history of “Shustovsky cognac”

The history of the Shustov family is more like a “great American dream”. The father of the founder of cognac production was a freed peasant who moved to the city and received the title of merchant of the third guild. Where did Nikolai Shustov step further, creating a real alcohol empire, which he passed on to his four sons. He succeeded only because of his own hard work, enterprise and intuitive understanding of what today is called “marketing”.

The trading house “Shustov with Sons” was registered in 1863 and was intended to smoke and sell alcoholic beverages. Already at the beginning of the twentieth century, the company owned factories in Moscow, Yerevan, Chisinau, cognac and liquor warehouses in many cities of the empire, vineyards in Kurdamir, branches in large Russian cities and abroad. The famous Shustovsky cognac has become synonymous with the highest quality and rightfully took its place next to the products of elite cognac houses in France.

Awards “Shustov” (OKZ)

“Brand of the Year of Ukraine-2009”.

2009 – Golden Prize “For the best trade mark”, Paris.

International tasting competition of drinks Best Drink:

• 2014 – first place in the category (“Shustov 5 *”);
• 2015 – first places in their categories (“Shustov 3”, “Shustov 4”, “Shustov 5*”).

Tasting competition at the international exhibition “Prodexpo”, Moscow:

• 2009 – Silver medal (“Shustov 5 *”);

International tasting competition “Yalta. Golden Griffin”:

• 2000 – Grand Prix (“Shustov Golden Duke” OS 20 years);
• 2006 – Big gold (“Shustov 1863”), 3 gold (“Shustov 5”, “Shustov ESTE VVSOP”, “Shustov ESTE XO”), 3 silver (“Shustov 3”, “Shustov 4*”, “Shustov ESTE VSOP” “”) medals;
• 2008 – 3 gold (“Shustov ESTE VVSOP”, “Shustov ESTE XO”, “Shustov ESTE VSOP”) medals;
• 2009 – Gold medal and the title of “Best Cognac of the Year” (Shustov “Grand Prix Paris”).

International Exhibition Food & Drinks:

• 2000 – Gold medal (“Shustov 5 *”).

Types of cognac “Shustov”

*Shustov 150 3, 40%**

A young cognac from the brand’s anniversary line, released for the 150th anniversary of the Odessa Brandy Factory. The blend includes spirits that are usually used for vintage cognacs. It has a bright bouquet with nutty tones and a characteristic grape seed aroma. The taste is soft, non-astringent, dry, the leading themes are dried fruits, vanilla, chocolate cream. The design for the collection was commissioned by a London-based agency: the flask-shaped bottle is decorated with Gaudí-style mosaics and craquelure-like relief ornamentation.

“Shustov Golden Duke” OS 20 years, 40%

The most aged in the line of vintage cognacs of the brand. Assembled from spirits not younger than 20 years old, the finished blend is additionally aged for 3 years in Limousin and Trondsay oak barrels. The aroma is multi-layered, devoid of alcohol aggression: spicy woody tones are complemented by hints of caramel and vanilla. The taste is characterized by floral and fruity freshness, the aftertaste is dominated by nuts and dried fruits. The manufacturer recommends serving the drink as a digestif, complementing it with coffee or a good cigar.

Cognac “Shustov” (Shustov)

Russian cognacs of the brand “Shustov” are produced by the “Chernogolovsky factory of alcoholic products” OST-ALKO “, which is part of the holding” Group of enterprises “OST”. The high quality of the drinks produced here has been marked by numerous awards: the Russian Trade Olympus awards, the Russian government, the Grand Prix for the introduction of new types of products. The company’s products are exported to many European and Asian countries, Canada, USA, CIS.

In 2001, the OST Group received exclusive rights to use the trademark from the direct heirs of Nikolai Shustov. The product line includes ordinary and aged cognacs, vodkas, sweet and bitter tinctures, balms. Most of the drinks are produced according to the recipes passed down by the descendants of the famous distiller, which were restored and finalized by the technologists of the Chernogolovka plant. The first such product was the Northern Cranberry N. L. Shustova sweet tincture, in 2003 the Shustov KV cognac was produced.

Trademark fight

Since 2005, disputes over the use of the brand in foreign countries have not ceased between Russian and Ukrainian manufacturers. The reason for the first trial was the desire of the Odessa Cognac Factory to register the Shustoff brand in the US Patent Office. “The OST group of enterprises saw this as a violation of their rights, since a year earlier it had already registered its own trademark Shustov.

In 2006, claims arose already from the Ukrainian side: OKZ filed a lawsuit demanding that the Russian company’s registration of the Shustoff trademark be invalidated. The lawsuit took place in Riga, as this trademark was bought from a Latvian citizen. The court decision was made in favor of the plaintiff, the complaint of the OST Group of Enterprises was dismissed.

To date, similar counterclaims in Israel and the United States have not yet been resolved.

Awards – “Shustov”

Tasting competition at the international exhibition “Prodexpo”, Moscow:

• 2006 – Silver medal (“Shustov” KV);
• 2017 – 2 silver medals (“Shustov 3 years old”, “Shustov 4 years old”).

International professional competition of wines and spirits:

• 2004 – 3 silver medals (“Shustov 3 years old”, “Shustov 5 years old”, “Shustov KV 6 years old”);
• 2005 – 2 silver (“Shustov 5 years old, “Shustov” KV 6 years old) and bronze (“Shustov 3 years old”) medals;
• 2006 – Silver medal (“Shustov” KVVK);
• 2007 – Gold medal (“Shustov” KVVK).
• Open international competition of wines and drinks “Southern Russia”:
• 2006 – Gold (“Shustov” KVVK) and silver (“Shustov” KV) medals.

International Award “Brand of the Year/EFFIE”:

• 2005 – the brand “Shustov” became a gold laureate.

Interesting Facts

In 2013, the fame of Nikolai Shustov literally acquired cosmic proportions: one of the stars in the constellation Aquarius was named after him. The fact that the name of the luminary was included in the International Star Catalog is confirmed by an official certificate.

The labels of Shustov’s cognacs are decorated with the image of a bell. The Shustovs were very religious people and always helped the Orthodox Church. For good deeds, the church granted Shustov the right to use the sign of the bell as a symbol of the inviolability of faith.

Cognac “Shustov KV”, 42%

Aged cognac, created on the basis of the original recipe of the founder of the drinking empire, Nikolai Shustov. The blend uses old spirits obtained from grapes of different varieties grown in ecologically safe regions: Silvaner, Aligote, Rkatsiteli. The original conical bottle has a volume of 0 liters, which corresponds to the measure adopted at the beginning of the 61th century – 1/20 of a bucket. The label depicts a portrait of the “cognac king” and the trademark of the partnership – a bell.