Crystal Head Vodka

Crystal Head Vodka
The Crystal Head Vodka bottle
Type Vodka
Manufacturer Globefill Inc.
Country of origin Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Introduced Southern California, 2008
Alcohol by volume 40%
Proof (US) 80
Color Clear
Website Crystal Head Vodka

Crystal Head Vodka is a brand of vodka manufactured by Globefill Inc. in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was conceived and founded by actor Dan Aykroyd and artist John Alexander in 2007.

The vodka is quadruple-distilled and seven times filtered, with the final 3 filtrations through Herkimer diamond crystals, which are actually a type of double-terminated quartz rather than diamond.[1] The Crystal Skull bottle was designed by artist John Alexander[2] and is manufactured by Milan-based glass-manufacturer Bruni Glass.[3][4]

History

Aykroyd and Alexander first conceived of the idea for Crystal Head Vodka in 2007. Due to the lack of additive free vodka in market, Aykroyd decided to make one himself. Alexander designed the bottle based on the pair's shared fascination with the legend of the thirteen Crystal Skulls.[5]

It took two years to execute the manufacture of the bottle, made by Milan-based glass manufacturer Bruni Glass. Crystal Head launched in Southern California in 2008 and launched in four other states shortly after. It was sold in the rest of the United States in 2009 before becoming available worldwide.

Crystal Head Vodka was in development at the same time as the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Sensing a conflict, Aykroyd arranged to meet with Steven Spielberg to discuss resolving the issue. To Aykroyd's surprise, Spielberg suggested that he would have liked Crystal Head Vodka to be served at the premiere.[6]

In 2010, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario refused to carry Crystal Head Vodka in its stores saying that people might find the bottle offensive.[7] They later reversed their decision after a change was made to the box design.[8]

In May 2011, 21,000 bottles of the vodka were stolen from a warehouse in Southern California. Aykroyd joked that he was "happy that some consumers will be afforded the opportunity of tasting it at significantly lower than retail price".[9][10]

Crystal Head Vodka Logo

In 2013, Aykroyd was spending over 90 days a year on the road promoting the vodka through signings and appearances.[11] The brand was the official vodka of the Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary Tour in 2013.[12]

Aurora

The Aurora bottle

In August 2015, Crystal Head Vodka released Crystal Head Aurora, a line extension to the Crystal Head vodka brand. Aurora is manufactured by Globefill Incorporated at the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation distillery in Newfoundland, Canada. English wheat from North Yorkshire, England is processed and distilled five times in a traditional column still. The raw spirit is then reduced with Newfoundland water to 40% alcohol by volume. Unlike Crystal Head Vodka, Aurora is filtered using activated charcoal; this unique filtration lasts 6 hours to remove any impurities. Aurora is then filtered three times through Herkimer diamonds. Aurora uses a final micro filtration prior to being bottled.

Bottle design

The original bottle is manufactured by Milan-based glass-manufacturer Bruni Glass.[13]

Bruni Glass also manufacture the "Aurora" bottle. The original Crystal Head Vodka bottle is placed in a sealed chamber and electrically charged. Two metals in powder form are then activated and released into a pressurized chamber. The powder is drawn to the electrically charged bottle, completely coating it. The bottles are then baked at a high temperature melting the powder and creating the iridescent metalized finish. No two Aurora bottles are alike.

The defect rate on the bottle production is about 40% on the 750 ml.[14] Higher on the larger sizes. 3 litre size is closer to 70%. This can be compared to less than 0.5% defect rate on normal bottles.

Production

The three quartz filters used in Crystal Head Vodka's filtering process

Crystal Head Vodka is manufactured by Globefill Incorporated at the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation distillery called Rock Spirits in Newfoundland, Canada. "Peaches and Cream" corn grown in the Chatham-Kent region of Ontario is processed and distilled four times to produce a neutral grain spirit at 95% alcohol by volume. The raw spirit is then reduced with Newfoundland water to 40% alcohol by volume. The liquid is then filtered seven times of which three are through Herkimer diamonds. These raw stones are quartz crystals, which have been ascribed untested, unfounded healing properties such as "amplifying spirit energy" by some new age belief systems.[15] This proprietary filtration process claims to account for the smoothness of the vodka, however this has yet to be verified by any type of study. Crystal Head does not use any additives--glycerol, citrus oil, or sugar—in the production of their vodka. The factory and product is certified kosher,[16] as well as gluten-free.[17]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Crystal Head Vodka
  2. ↑ Drinksdaily.com
  3. ↑ Bruniglass.com
  4. ↑ Drinksdaily.com
  5. ↑ Kleinman, Geoff (2010-09-23). "Dan Aykroyd Talks About Crystal Head Vodka". Drink Spirits. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  6. ↑ "Dank Akroyd: The Big Interview - Ghost Busters 3, James Brown, & Carrie Fisher". youtube.com.
  7. ↑ Beppi Crosariol. "Ontario bans Dan Aykroyd's skull-shaped vodka". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  8. ↑ Beppi Crosariol. "How Dan Aykroyd finally got his skull vodka unbanned from the LCBO". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  9. ↑ "Dan Aykroyd - 21,000 BOTTLES of Vodka ... STOLEN". TMZ.com. 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  10. ↑ "Dan Aykroyd has 21,000 bottles of vodka stolen | CTV News". Ctvnews.ca. 2011-05-12. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  11. ↑ "Dan Ackroyd's Crystal Head Vodka: Celebrity builds brand awareness | Financial Post". Business.financialpost.com. 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  12. ↑ "Crystal Head vodka joins forces with The Rolling Stones-Stockhouse news". Stockhouse.com. 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  13. ↑ Bruniglass.com
  14. ↑ "The Price of Vodka". www.simple.com.au/blog. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  15. ↑ "Herkimer Diamond Meanings and Uses". Crystal Vaults. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  16. ↑ "Crystal Head Vodka Awarded OU Kosher Certification". Ou.org. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  17. ↑ "Crystal Head Vodka". Crystal Head Vodka. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  18. ↑ "Crystal Head Vodka". www.crystalheadvodka.com. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  19. ↑ "San Francisco World Spirits Competition" (PDF). sfspiritscomp.com. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  20. ↑ "San Francisco World Spirits Competition". sfspiritscomp.com. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  21. ↑ "San Francisco World Spirits Competition - 2011 Results By Brand" (PDF). sfspiritscomp.com. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  • Official website
  • Official Website - German
  • Official Website - Spanish
  • Official Website - French
  • Official Website - Italian
  • Luxury Spirits Crystal Head Vodka Online sale Website - Spanish
  • Forbes Magazine
  • Santos, Zeon (February 16, 2014). "Forensic Scientists Create The Face Of Crystal Skull Vodka". Neatorama.com. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
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