Type Vodka Alcohol by volume 40% | Manufacturer Globefill Inc. Proof (US) 80 | |
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Country of origin Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Introduced Southern California, 2008 | ||
Crystal Head Vodka is a brand of vodka manufactured by Globefill Inc. in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was conceived of and founded by actor Dan Aykroyd and artist John Alexander in 2007.
Contents
The vodka is quadruple-distilled and heptuple-filtered, with the final 3 filtrations through Herkimer diamond crystals. The Crystal Skull bottle was designed by artist John Alexander and is manufactured by Milan-based glass-manufacturer Bruni Glass.
Crystal Head has won numerous awards, including a Gold Medal for Excellent Taste at the 2013 Moscow ProdExpo International Tasting Contest, and a Double Gold Medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
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.
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 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.
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. They later reversed their decision after a change was made to the box design.
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".
In 2013, Aykroyd was spending over 90 days a year on the road promoting the vodka through signings and appearances. The brand was the official vodka of the Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary Tour in 2013.
Aurora
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.
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 bottle contains pieces of crystal, which attributes to the bottle’s fine clarity.
The defect rate on the bottle production is about 40 percent on the 750 ml. Higher on the larger sizes. 3 L size is closer to 70 percent. This can be compared to less than 0.5 % defect rate on normal bottles.
Production
Crystal Head Vodka is manufactured by Globefill Incorporated at the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation distillery 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 healing properties by some new age belief systems. This proprietary filtration process accounts for the smoothness of the vodka. 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, as well as gluten-free.
Controversy
Until 2013, company promotion, videos and website contained references to "No glycol (an ingredient for engine anti-freeze)" After an expose online company officials changed all marketing to "No glycerol". While "glycol" is indeed antifreeze, it has never been used in vodka production. "Glycerol", on the other hand, is a safe additive. Several other marketing aspects of the product were called into question as well.
Awards
Crystal Head Vodka has won awards including a Gold Medal for Excellent Taste at the 2013 Moscow ProdExpo International Tasting Contest, as well as a Double Gold Medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.