The Tasting Panel magazine

AUGUST 2011

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COVER STORY Up, Up and Away by Lana Bortolot / photos by Doug Young HANGAR ONE—THE VODKA WITH THE BLIMP— SOARS ACROSS AMERICA hen Hangar One vodka was looking for a new way to reach the trade, it looked to the skies for inspiration. That seemed only natural—after all, the cool and quirky brand was founded in an old naval air station in Alameda, California, across the bay from San Francisco. So keeping with its cheeky style, the company chose a blimp to carry the brand message coast to coast. The flagship—or, rather, airship—of the vodka’s 2011 road show, is soaring its way cross county and landing in some 30 off-the-beaten-path airports. Once grounded, there’s a call out to local bartenders to bring their best recipes and ingredients blimp-side for an on-site mixing competition. In each region, bartenders are vying for a grand prize trip to hang at the hangar in Alameda and work with the distillers for a day. W The Hangar One blimp touches down at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, NY. In front are (left to right) Diego Certuchi, Tour Manager; Gaila Sandler, Associate Brand Manager; Evy Gonzales, Hangar One Publicist; Miguel Tavares, Ground Crew; Billy Gallagher, Tour Ambassador. Who will win is really up in the air—and up to the brand’s nearly 27,000 Facebook fans, who will vote on the winner based on a video pre- sentation of their recipes, recorded on-site at each landing party. Each contestant has 60 days to garner Facebook “likes,” and the most “liked” bartender from each of five regions will be Alameda-bound. Winners will be announced Feb. 19, 2012. Launched Memorial Day weekend, the blimp bumped its way down the Claire Bertin-Lang of Respite in NYC mixes her Spiced Summer Sipper with Hangar One Spiced Pear. Eastern Seaboard for its Florida launch. Long Island and Northern New Jersey were the ninth and tenth stops, giving New York metro area bartenders the opportunity to party with the blimp. august 201 1 / the tasting panel / 45

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