Cristal is the flagship cuvée of Champagne Louis Roederer, created in 1876 for Alexander II, tsar of Russia.

Thus when he visited Paris in 1867 for the Exposition Universelle, the Tsar ordered that champagne bottles for the lavish dinner he hosted for the Prussian King Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (later termed the Three Emperors Dinner) be made clear, so that he could see the bubbles and also to prevent an explosive being hidden beneath them, as could happen with a typical dark green indented bottle.

[2] Louis Roederer commissioned a Flemish glassmaker to create a clear lead glass Champagne bottle with a flat bottom.

[4] In the mid 1990s to early 2000s, hip hop music discovered the brand, with several artists referencing the drink in song lyrics and as part of their public image, including Raekwon, 50 Cent, The Notorious B.I.G., R. Kelly, Diddy, Big L, Jeru the Damaja, Trina, and Jay-Z.

In an interview with The Economist in 2006, Louis Roederer managing director Frederic Rouzaud said he viewed the attention from rappers with "curiosity and serenity."