Hong Kong's wave of interest in fine wines has inspired entrepreneurs to import more sophisticated vodkas in the hope of creating a climate of connoisseurship around the spirit.
'It's just like what happened in the wine industry years ago. Now everybody in China loves wine and wants to drink more wine,' says Michel Morren. 'The same will happen to vodka, we are convinced about that,' adds the Dutchman, who created the Royal Dragon Vodka launched recently at Dragon-i.
The smooth, Russian rye-distilled spirit comes in bottles emblazoned with its mythical motif. Most striking are the hand-blown glass-sculpted dragons inside selected bottles.
'The dragon looks like it's in a cage so, if you pour it, the effect is like you're letting the dragon out,' says Morren, who made his initial fortune in the luxury jewellery industry. He's also the CEO of GoldVish, which specialises in jewelled mobile phones, and has sold gold phones forEuro1 million (HK$10.1 million) each.
The Dutchman's switch from jewellery to liquor explains the sparkle in the spirits. The Imperial range is laced with 23-carat gold flakes. The limited edition Emperor bottles also have the precious metal in the liquid and the bottle is capped with a diamond-encrusted gold pendant among other opulent extras.
Not surprisingly this distiller pitches itself as the 'Lamborghini of vodkas', striving to add a 'superior' tier above the premium variety in the vodka market.