Alcohol From A Country That Doesn't Exist

Transnistria!
Since first hearing about Transnistria a few years ago, I have been fascinated by it.  It's a breakaway territory in Moldova, along part of the border with Ukraine.  To over simplify it, in the early '90s Transnistria decided it was no longer part of Moldova, and Moldova disagreed.  (Transnistria had previously claimed to be part of the USSR, but then the USSR fell and Transnistria was stuck with Moldova.) The cease-fire in 1992 seems to pretty much let Transnistria think of itself as independent while not actually being such.  According to wikipedia, "It is organized as a presidential republic, with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, and currency. Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, national anthem, and a coat of arms."  Locally the country is called Приднестровская Молдавская Республика (Pridnestróvskaia Moldávskaia Respública aka PMR).

Transnistria!

Desolation Travel, easily one of my favorite blogs, has two articles on Transnistria.  They also have a far better look at the country, its history, its current state, etc.  Check them out here and here.

KVINT
Since the place is a bit of an abnormality, I decided that I need to try its most famous export: KVINT.  (A noble sentiment for sure.) KVINT is a wine and brandy distillery in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria.  According to their website their name is an abbreviation of "Коньяки, вина и напитки Тирасполя", the Russian phrase for "Brandies, Wines and Beverages of Tiraspol".  You can tour the factory in Tiraspol... but I'm in the United States with no current plans to travel to Transnistria.  So begins my quest for KVINT!

Where exactly does one find brandy from Transnistria in the US?  There are two phone numbers of US distributors on their website, but no one seems to answer them... ever.  I sent an email to the one on the east coast, which happened to be about an hour from my house at the time, and a few days later they did get back to me asking what I'm looking for and in what quantities.  But just prior to receiving that email, I found information on a wine store in New Jersey that listed KVINT on its website... Sounds promising!

I called the store to verify that they did indeed have a KVINT product in stock, they said yes, I hopped in my car, drove an hour-ish to the store, asked the store employee where I could find KVINT (since he previously told me they had it), and we were off to the Cognac aisle!  Mr. Liquor-Store-Employee pulled a dusty bottle from the back of the bottom shelf and handed it to me.  KVINT?  No.  No?  No.  It didn't have the name KVINT, the company logo, or any other related information on the bottle.  Failure.  I left thoroughly disappointed.

Still Searching...
So now I'm back to emailing the two contacts listed on the website, hoping for a reply.  And if that doesn't work, there are some shady websites claiming to have it available!

Anyone have any other ideas?  Or perhaps know of a place I can buy this brand?

If nothing else, the lack of organization and ease of doing business with this company is giving me a lesson in Eastern European patience.  If it's this hard to track down Transnistria's main export, I imagine other common scenarios are equally difficult to accomplish there!

North America's Highest Paved Road

The highest paved road in North America is right here in Colorado!  With a final elevation of 14,130', the Mt. Evans Scenic Byway winds its way to the top of Mt. Evans.  Starting just outside of Idaho Springs, the route is 28 miles long, and gains over 7000'.





View Mt. Evans Scenic Byway in a larger map

Lakes
Along the way you'll pass two lakes, Echo Lake and Summit Lake. 

• Echo Lake is before the toll station, so you'll find lots of people here.  There are picnic tables, grills, campgrounds, etc.  Echo Lake is at 10,600'.
• Summit Lake is after the toll station, and is right off of the byway.  There is a parking lot and restrooms.  Summit Lake is at 12,830'.

Wildlife 
According to Wikipedia, there is a lot of cool wildlife to see on Mt. Evans, including:

• Mountain Lions
• Black Bears
• Bighorn Sheep
• Mountain Goats
• Yellow-Bellied Marmots
• Pikas
• Elk
• Mule Deer
• White-Tailed Ptarmigans, and a few other birds

I only saw some big horn sheep ewes on my trip in June, so I'll need to visit again. :)




At The Top
Once you finally reach the top, you'll see some people hiking around.  It was in the upper-30s when I was there in June, and was so windy that we opted to get back in the car pretty quickly, rather than walk around.  It is typically very windy up there, and rarely goes above 40°F in the summer (I asked a ranger!).  A good rule of thumb seems to be 40° below the current temperature in Idaho Springs. 

There is a nice overlook area, complete with viewfinders and restrooms.  The view is amazing, and you can see Denver in the distance.



The University of Denver has an observatory at the top, and you can view some regional weather information on their website (here). The observatory is accessible by DU students taking certain astronomy or physics courses, but is not open to the public.

A Few Notes
Aside from bringing a coat so you can explore without being too cold, here are some tips:

• Safety:  There are no guard rails on most of the byway.  It's a winding road, with lots of big drop offs.  The road is wide enough for two cars to drive past each other, but barely.
  
• Engine Braking: On the way down you'll want to do some engine braking, so your brakes don't overheat.  There are a few places to pull over if your car needs a rest.
• Cost: The byway costs $9 per car, and is good for 3 consecutive days.
• Altitude Sickness:  Watch out for altitude sickness!  Even living at over 5000', I still felt a bit dizzy up there!
• Weather:  As I said before, it's windy and cold.  It frequently snows in the summer, and temperatures drop about 5°F for every 1000' of elevation you gain. 

Further Information

• MountEvans.com has some useful information, including road closing info
• Mt. Evans on the America's Byways site
• My photo album on Flickr