Alita is a brewing company based in

Alytus Alytus () is a city with Town privileges, municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, sixth-largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, 14th-largest city in the Baltic ...

, Lithuania, established in 1963. Alita is one of the largest producers of alcoholic beverages in Lithuania. In 2004, when the

state monopoly In economics, a government monopoly or public monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly in which a government agency or government corporation is the sole provider of a particular good or service and competition is prohibited by law. It is a monopoly ...

of liquor production in Lithuania was lifted, the company was privatised. In the same year, Alita acquired 95% stake of Lithuanian company Anykščių vynas, the oldest wine producer in Eastern

Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...

. Alita produces naturally fermented sparkling grape vines, alcoholic cocktails, ciders, vodka, brandy and concentrated fruit juice and it exports its products around the world. It entered the

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

s business in 1995. In 2000, the distillery released a vodka named Putin Vodka, with a red, white, and blue label, which are the colours of the

Russian flag The national flag of the Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 it was ...

. Sold only in Lithuania at that time, a company spokesperson said that the name had its origin in the tree "putinas" (the Lithuanian name for the genus ''

Viburnum ''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The memb ...

''). The company was the

title sponsor Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

BC Alita BC Alita is a defunct basketball club that was based in Alytus, Lithuania. The club was founded in 1995 when the headquarters of the basketball club BC Savy Vilnius were moved to Alytus, Lithuania as part of the geographical expansion of the Lithu ...

, a local basketball club, which consistently competed in the top tier

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

for all its existence, in addition to various European tournaments –

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...

FIBA EuroCup Challenge The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, organised by FIBA Europe. However, it was Europe's 3rd-tier level club basketball competition in its inaugural 2002� ...

, and

FIBA EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run by FIBA Europe. It is not to be confus ...

References

External links

* Food and drink companies established in 1963 Wine companies Drink companies of Lithuania Companies formerly listed on Nasdaq Vilnius 1963 establishments in Lithuania Alytus Lithuanian brands Drink companies of the Soviet Union {{Lithuania-company-stub