Eristoff Eristavi (ერისთავი). The title means ‘head of the nation’ but translates more accurately as ‘head of a military force’. By the 19th century, five noble families each representing a different part of Georgia were using the name Eristhavi. Prince Ivane Eristoff who first created Eristoff vodka in 1806 was from the northwest province of Racha. A landmark in the history of the Eristoff family and Eristoff vodka came in the late 19th century when Ivane’s great grandson, Prince Alexander Constantine Eristoff moved from Georgia to Saint Petersburg. Prince Alexander went on to enjoy a distinguished military career eventually reaching the
Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff editor and diplomat in the mid-19th century. Eristoff served as a member of the New York City Council from 1993 until 1999, elected three times to represent an overwhelmingly Democratic district on Manhattan's East Side. In addition to focusing on quality-of-life issues (he wrote the Taxi Rider's Bill of Rights and a law to ban panhandling near automated teller machines, for example), Eristoff became the Council's leading expert on technology and was made Chairman of the Council's Task Force on Technology in Government, the first Republican to hold a chair in modern times. In 1999, Eristoff became New York City