This article was published on June 16th, 2014

Gays love to drink their vodka-cran drinks! It’s one of the most widely consumed vodka beverages in the gay community. What better way to celebrate Pride Month and World Pride 2014 in Toronto than with fun and creative cocktails! This year, World Pride 2014 is pleased to announce a new partnership with Stolichnaya vodka, which will be proudly served at official events throughout the ten-day festival and celebration.

Let’s get one thing gay, Stolichnaya is not Russian vodka. The Stolichnaya vodka brand has a proud history dating back to the Czar Empire, was one of the first commercial vodkas in the world, and has won medals in spirit competitions around the world. Today, Stoli vodka is respected as a world-class premium vodka.

Today, Stolichnaya vodka is owned by SPI Group, also known as Spirit Group. Since 1991, SPI Group has owned right to produce, distribute and market Stolichnaya vodka around the world, excluding Russia. SPI Group is not allowed to import any Stolichnaya vodka into Russia. In fact, the controlling shareholder of SPI Group, Yuri Scheffler, is exiled from Russia. As of January 1, 2014, Stoli USA was created, when SPI took control of distribution and marketing in the United States, and in Canada, the contract was recently awarded to Mark Anthony Group.

SPI Group is responsible for the entire process of vodka production of Stolichnaya vodka from grain to glass. With full transparency, the company admits some ingredients, including the grain, which has been sourced from the same Russian-based farm for over 80 years, continues to this day. However, every step in the production process, including blending, filtering, bottling and shipping, right through to distribution is 100% owned and controlled by SPI Group.

SPI Group and Stolichnaya vodka have always been, and continues to be, a supporter of the LGBT community. The equal-opportunity employer supports gay pride events, festivals and events around the world, including Stoli Man, and now World Pride in Toronto. Stoli and SPI Group will continue to support other LGBT causes and events around the world; giving back to the community they truly believe in.

[Contest]

HomoCulture.ca and Stolichnaya Vodka want to send you and guest to the Prism World during World Pride in Toronto. Enter now for a chance to win a pair of weekend passes to Prism World including Collage, Bootcamp, Aqua Mega T-Dance, Main Event, Peep Show and Revival. These tickets have been sold out for months! Each ticket is valued at over $275!

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post on your favourite Stoli vodka cocktail.

For an additional entry, once you leave a comment on this blog post, tweet the following:

Hey @br_webb I’m going to @WorldPride2014 and want to win @PrismEventsInc passes from @StoliCAN! http://bit.ly/1vx7fyh #StoliWorldPride

Contest closes at 5:00pm PST, Tuesday, June 24, 2014. One random drawn winner will be announced on this blog post on or before Thursday, June 26, 2014. Prizes are as awarded, the contest winner cannot transfer tickets to another person, and must pick-up the tickets in person with a valid ID. Read the complete contest rules.

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This contest is now closed.

Congratulations Yvonne Murphy, you are the lucky winner of tickets to Prism World Pride events at World Pride 2014 in Toronto.

Thank you to everyone who entered by sharing on Facebook, twitter, and subscribing to HomoCulture.ca. Please keep watching for more contests coming soon.