You might know the story of Belka and Strelka: two stray dogs who were plucked from the streets of Moscow, trained up and fired into space from Kazakhstan.
The plucky pair spent a day aboard the Sputnik 5 on 19 August 1960 and orbited the Earth a total of 18 times, before returning home to become the world's first canine cosmonauts to make it all the way there and back again.
Their journey paved the way for further exploration and, without their help, the Soviets wouldn't have been able to take the next step and send Yuri Gagarin – the world's first astronaut – up into the deep dark depths of space just one year later.
It's a great story, and a killer pub fact, but what you probably don't know is that they also have an entire spirit dedicated to their brave deeds.
Enter: Belka and Strelka Vodka by Ellustria. Triple-distilled from wheat and filtered through silver, it's made in Kazakhstan, the country where these brave dogs were launched into space from. It's an extremely versatile vodka that has been created in the same pioneering spirit that helped pave the way for Belka and Strelka's heroism.
You'll struggle to find a cocktail or mixer it won't go perfectly with, but we prefer to add a shot of it to an ice cold glass of Fentimans Curiosity Cola, a mix otherwise known to you and us as "Curious Cosmonauts".
Quirky, huh? We thought so, too, which is why we're offering Foodism readers the chance to try this special commemorative vodka for themselves – at a discounted price, of course. For a limited time only, you'll be able to claim 10% off from March until June 2018 at drinksupermarket.com on us. You're welcome.
Now, what are you waiting for? Head to drinksupermarket.com to claim your discount or check out belkaandstrelkavodka.com or follow @EllustriaBeverages on Facebook for more information.
