The process of ‘smoothening’ vodka was invented by Ilya Sergeyevich Voskresensky (1856-1932), a Russian doctor and dietician from St. Petersburg. In 1902 he emigrated to Switzerland, where he undertook research into the science of diet. At that time, his pamphlets about healthy eating and the benefits of honey, which he published under the pseudonym of Dr Medkoff, were extremely popular. One of Voskresensky’s research works focused on ‘honey smoothened’ vodka, which retained the main benefits of vodka – i.e. purity and clearness - but which had a milder taste. In the course of time, Ilya Voskresensky developed a vodka-production process that involved adding propolis, queen bee milk and pollen. However, the main principle of ‘honey smoothened’ vodka remained unaltered.

A century later, Ilya Voskresensky’s descendants, who live in London, discovered archive documents on the research carried out by their eminent ancestor, in which he described the technology and particular themes that lay behind his work. His descendants became interested in his ideas, and so they decided to put his technique to the test in production. The results exceeded all their expectations: not only did the vodka turn out to be clear, without any after-taste of honey, but also had a very smooth taste and aroma. The company Medkoff & Co was founded, which patented the list of ingredients and the process for producing smooth vodka, which had been developed as far back as 1902.

At the international tasting competition, United Vodka 2003, which was held in May 2003 in Cannes in France, representatives from the Medkoff company became interested in the Ukrainian company, Soyuz Viktan. At the tasting competition, Soyuz Viktan’s products won two silver and one gold medal, outrivaling over 60 famous brands from Sweden, Finland, Poland and Russia. Negotiations resulted in an agreement whereby the company Soyuz Viktan obtained the right to manufacture and distribute in CIS countries the products that were based on the new technology.

The new trademark has been called MEDOFF.