PURITY VODKA
By Michael Hepworth
Los Angeles, CA(Spiritsman)10/21/11/—Yet another newcomer to the market, and this vodka hails from Sweden, home to One of my favorites, the excellent Karlsson’s Gold. This year saw the vodka hit some of the top bars and restaurants in New York and an aggressive marketing campaign will see it in the rest of the country. It’s hard to see what not to like about this premium vodka, and even the most jaded of mixologists should embrace this stuff with some excitement.
The press release claims it is the world’s most award-winning ultra premium vodka, and mixologist John Pomeroy has joined the Purity team to work along side master blender Thomas Kuuttanen. Accolades and gold medals have been won at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London; the San Francisco World Spirits Competition; the Distillata Awards in Austria; The Sommeliers Trophy in Sweden and the 2009 and 2010 Vodka Masters in Cannes, France.
The distillation process is also unique that takes place at the 13th century Ellinge Castle in Southern Sweden. Using a secret family recipe and including estate grown wheat and barley and water from the spring at Ellinge Castle which is rich in minerals and iron. Here the ingredients are then placed in a pot made of copper and gold where 90% of the spirit is discarded leaving 10% of pure vodka after no less than 34 distillations. The pot process is very labor intensive, but the end result is a pure and smooth vodka that requires zero filtration.
The bottle itself is pretty classy in a crystal-like bottle, and it is currently available in selected retail outlets in California, New Jersey, Georgia and New York. Blender Thomas Kuuttanen must take the bulk of the credit for Purity Vodka, and he is only one of three Swedish Master Blenders. Formerly bartender, he is now a teacher and educator to sommeliers, bartenders and restaurateurs.
The trend in vodka growth has seen the emergence of smaller artisan and hand crafted brands gaining momentum with consumers who are not afraid to pay extra for unique quality. Purity certainly falls into that category and at a price of about $35 a bottle, frankly is a bit of a steal for this smooth and mellow vodka. In fact I have also seen it as low as $24.99 at a select and well known outlet, which to me is rather amazing.
Michael Hepworth
287 S.Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
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