Tsar Alexander II and Louis Roederer Cristal

We're in Russia in the 19th Century - the age of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

• Statistically, you're probably a serf.
• Alexander II has just passed the act of 'emancipation', freeing millions of serfs from your legal bondage to landowners.
• Unfortunately you are probably even poorer than before this act, due to massive redemption payments for the land you were given as part of your emancipation.
• Russia has just suffered a crushing defeat in the Crimean War, and the Tsar has been spurred to push for industrialisation - particularly in railways and the military. You probably don't love this either due to the intense working conditions and disruption to your peaceful rural life.

Your ruler, Tsar Alexander II is an interesting character. While hailed as a reformer, his measures were often half-hearted, leaving many problems unresolved and fuelling discontent among both conservatives and radicals.

He spends most of his time in The Winter Palace in St Petersburg.

While you slave away building the railways that Tsar Alexander II thinks will fix Russia's deep-rooted socio-economic problems, he is drinking lots of Champagne, specifically lots of Louis Roederer Champagne.

By 1855, a significant portion of Louis Roederer's production (nearly a third) went to Russia. In 1876, the Tsar commissioned a bespoke cuvée - the birth of Cristal.

The emperor asked Louis Roederer to reserve the House’s best cuvée for him every year. To distinguish this cuvée, this exceptional champagne came in a flat-bottomed, transparent lead-crystal bottle.

Apparently this is due to the Tsar's paranoia - a clear bottle allows him to check for potential poisonings, and a flat bottom means that no explosives can be hidden within.

Cristal wasn’t just a wine - it was a statement. Served exclusively at the Russian court, it became a symbol of Imperial power and grandeur, a stark reminder of the Romanovs’ wealth and status.

To give an idea of the untamed opulence Alexander II had a pet elephant (gifted to him by the Shah of Persia) which he reportedly kept at the Winter Palace.

It wasn't an unpopular opinion to see this dynamic as slightly unfair. Alexander II was eventually assassinated by way of a bomb (not hidden in a bottle of Champagne) thrown at his carriage.

After the fall of the Russian Empire, Louis Roederer continued to produce Cristal, eventually making it available to the public.