Caviar & Vodka Tasting Experience in Moscow or St. Petersburg

[dautcalm]

Hi,

I'm taking 2 week river boat cruise with a free day in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. I'd like to experience a caviar and vodka tasting experience in either place. Any suggestions on places offering this? Cost?

[slonik]

Hi,
Caviar and vodka tasting sound like the kind of optional activities you could well be offered as part of your cruise.
If not, you could do some tasting in the vodka museum in Moscow http://www.vodkamuseum.ru/english/tavern/. It's near the Izmailovo market which is a good place to go for souveniers. Alternatively pick a traditional Russian drinking hole and sample their menu, eg the Ryumochnaya by the Conservatoire in Moscow http://mnweekly.ru/lifestyle/20090521...

For caviar, the best, black caviar is extortionally expensive in restaurants, so I would suggest you DIY a tasting by visiting a supermarket and then finding a nice picnic spot. Get one tiny jar of black sturgeon caviar (2000 roubles and up), a jar/tin of red salmon caviar (200 roubles up) from behind the counter and then pick an assortiment of cheaper other caviar from the shelves.