The back story: Remember when vodka drinkers thought a bottle of Grey Goose was expensive? Stolichnaya, the Russian brand that’s one of the best-selling vodkas in the world, has increasingly emphasized the higher-end of the perennially popular white spirit.

(Since 2002, vodka sales have increased by 67%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.)

In 2003, Stoli introduced elit, a $60 vodka that was made using a special cold filtration process (it was said to give the vodka an “unparalleled purity”). In more recent years, Stoli has set the amp to 11, so to speak, with the elit Pristine Water Series — a series of limited-edition offerings (just 250-300 bottles released worldwide) that are made sourcing prized water from special locales (the grain that goes into making the vodka is good ol’ Russian wheat and rye, just as you’d find in any Stoli, and the filtration process is the same used in the standard elit). To quote Stoli Group USA chief marketing officer: “To craft a truly exemplary vodka, one with subtle taste and extraordinary clarity, you must begin with water.”