Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/413994
128 / the tasting panel / november 2014 L aunching its largest U.S. campaign to date, Purity Vodka has teamed up with actor and comedian Joel McHale to produce a new digital content series, "Crafted Spirits." The campaign shines a light on the world of obsessive craftsmanship, highlighting unique and accomplished craftsmen as a way to communicate Purity's own dedication to quality in creating its award-winning taste. "Purity Vodka called with an opportunity to hang out with the world's most unique craftsmen and drink on the job. So naturally I said, 'Sign me up!' And they replied, 'We just did—this phone call is legally binding," said Joel McHale. A comedic, documentary style digital video series starring McHale, "Crafted Spirits" was created to take viewers on McHale's journey to discover craftsmen who do things a little differently, to create the ultimate statement of taste. This idea parallels the brand's own Master Craftsman and founder, Thomas Kuuttanen, who created Purity Vodka. "'Crafted Spirits' is a natural progression for an artisanal brand like Purity," said Andy Glaser, President and CEO, Purity Vodka. "We have a unique story in how we craft our vodka and create its award- winning taste. We can share this in a big and edgy way through the comedic storytelling of Joel McHale, while remaining authentic to our brand's story of obsessive craftsmanship." A Statement of Taste FALLING IN LOVE WITH A MONGOLIAN NATIVE, GOLIA VODKA A fter falling in love with a Mongolian tour guide, a friend of David Solomon's, founder and chairman of Golia Vodka, convinced him to visit the world's largest landlocked country, a lightly populated nation of mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and the Gobi Desert, that's pristine and unspoiled. Solomon calls Mongolia, "Earth's last unexplored frontier." While there, Solomon fell in love with another Mongolian local: the vodka. Since he was already searching for his next entre- preneurial adventure, Solomon decided to bring "the best vodka [he'd] ever had" back to the U.S., and that's how Golia Vodka was born. "Two things make a vodka great," begins Solomon, "quality of ingredients and the distillation/filtration process. We start with the most prized, organic winter wheat in northern Asian and have our own deep underground mountain well water source from an area where lake fish are visible up to 50 feet below the surface. You cannot get better, higher quality ingredients. Nothing man-made touches these main ingredients—no chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides." After it has been filtered at least six times (and up to nine times at the discretion of its Master Distiller) through charcoal, quartz, silver and platinum filters, the "World's Smoothest Vodka" is born. But don't just take our word for it. "We've won medals world- wide and tasting is believing with Golia," Solomon concludes. "We sell exceptionally well during both on- and off-premise tastings because people buy what they enjoy, and Golia's purity and smoothness shine through with the very first sip." The Last Frontier PURITY VODKA HIGHLIGHTS THE WORLD OF OBSESSIVE CRAFTSMANSHIP Joel McHale poses in front of 13th-century Ellinge Castle, where Purity Vodka is artfully crafted.