20051202

The Diva, The Donald, The Sidekick and The Professor


More new vodkas -- a nearly daily occurrence -- with some personal twists that may intrigue you.

Diva Vodka: This wheat-based vodka is triple distilled, filtered through Nordic birch charcoal then filtered again -- through such precious gems as diamonds, emerald and rubies, we are told. A glass tube in the bottle is filled with 48 crystals that can be used as a garnish. They include cubic zircona, smoky topaz, pink tourmaline, amethyst, citrine and peridot. Basic retail price: $60 a bottle.

Trump Super Premium: Drinks Americas Holdings Ltd. (DKAM) has signed a licensing agreement with The Trump Organization for this new vodka. Beyond that, the announcement was a veritable avalanche of hyperbole and braggadocio -- perhaps the main ingredients in the product? -- and very little product detail. One little detail that certainly was not included in the PR was that The Donald is a noted tee-totaler, a result of his own dislike for alcoholic beverages and the untimely death of his brother from alcoholism, something Trump has spoken about publicly. DKAM, by the way, develops, owns, markets, and nationally distributes alcoholic and non-alcoholic premium beverages often associated with celebrities. Among them: Willie Nelson's Old Whiskey River Bourbon and Bourbon Cream; Roy Yamaguchi's Y Sake, and golfer Greg Norman's Norman's Wines from Australia.


McMahon Perfect Vodka: The younger set may only know him as an old commercial pitchman for Publisher's Clearinghouse, but generations knew Ed McMahon as the hard-drinking, jovial sidekick of Johnny Carson for decades on late-night TV. Thus, it's no real surprise for most that the onetime Marine fighter pilot has come out with his own vodka. It's a premium Russian imported spirit, filtered four times.

Most Wanted Vodka: Seth Fox, an engineer in Leavenworth, KS, today runs a small distillery operation called High Plains. Just two years ago he was manufacturing creatine ethyl ester, a muscle strengthener to aid in heart surgery, for the University of Omaha. The compound he produced with an alcohol base intrigued him and led to experiments with distilled alcohol. That, in turn, led to his distillery and Most Wanted Vodka. Fox, who had made his own beer and wine for years, runs a one-man operation. He is limiting production and is distributing only in Kansas for now; he has sold 20,000 bottles of the Kansas grain vodka since late July when he put his product on the market.


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