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“Stone Lion” appeared on the market in 2013. It was a successful year for the Synergy group of companies: they signed a lucrative contract in the North American continent with Southern Wines & Spirits, entered the Chinese market, released Fox & Dogs – the first Russian whiskey, Doctor August tinctures that are popular today, Bastion cognac. And “Stone Lion”, which was produced by the Russian factory “UralAlco” owned by “Synergy”, also became a pleasant discovery for Russian connoisseurs of cognac. The blend of the drink was created from French cognac spirits, which are supplied to Russia by Merlet-e-Fils.
The history of the Perm plant “UralAlco” began in 1942, when the enterprise was state-owned, it produced industrial spirits for the front and food spirits for strong drinks, focusing on vodka products. After the Second World War, production capacities were doubled, supplies of wine materials from Stavropol and the Krasnodar Territory were established, and in the 60s from Moldova and Tajikistan, they began to produce not only vodka, but wines and tinctures.
In 1968, the plant was modernized, a complete reconstruction was carried out. After the collapse of the USSR, the supply of wine materials decreased, the enterprise was re-profiled and vodka became the main product. And in 1999, the plant was acquired by Synergy OJSC.
Now it is one of the successful enterprises of the Urals. The product range includes wines, vodka, tinctures, balms, gin, cognac. The plant has its own laboratory, which maintains a high level of product quality and develops new brands of alcoholic beverages. Well-known vodka brands “Rzhanoy Kolos”, “Stary Ural”, “Prikamye” in 1999, 2000 and 2002 were diploma winners of the competition “100 Best Goods of Russia”.
Interesting Facts
- The plant has 5 production lines equipped with equipment from the German company Krones and the Italian Sasib.
- Two wine bottling lines are equipped with pasteurizers that heat bottles up to 70 °C.
- Three lines for bottling strong drinks are equipped with rinsers that disinfect bottles with a water-alcohol mixture.
- Popular vodka brands of recent years have a serial character: ICE vodka – lemon, lime, cranberry; vodka “Forces of Nature” – on pine nuts, lime blossom, on birch buds.
- In addition to the cognac “Stone Lion”, the cognacs “Gold Reserve” and five-star “Russian” are popular all over Russia.
Design features of the Stone Lion bottle
The original bottle made of dark glass with a ceramic matte finish and a strict label is easy to remember, but does not allow you to evaluate the consistency and color of the drink.
The label, in addition to the emblem of the Synergy company, which changed its name to BELUGA GROUP in June 2017, contains brief information about the manufacturer and the address of the plant.
On the tapering part of the bottle and on the film covering the neck, a lion’s head is depicted as if carved from stone – an illustration of the name of the drink, and the Roman numeral V means its five-year exposure.
According to experts, the designer bottle reliably protects cognac from falsification, it is difficult to fake it.
Characteristics of cognac “Stone Lion”
This is a dark amber drink with a traditional strength of 40%, poured into a transparent cognac glass, it acquires a golden hue. A pleasant chocolate-vanilla aroma harmonizes with a warm and mild taste, in which notes of chocolate and dried fruits are felt. Long tart aftertaste with a hint of caramel and a slight astringency of oak.
The manufacturer recommends drinking “Stone Lion” unchilled as a digestif. Cognac is combined with fruit, coffee and chocolate.
