Crystal Head Vodka is a premium vodka

Vodka

Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

 manufactured by Globefill Inc. in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The vodka was co-founded by actor Dan Aykroyd

Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...

 and artist John Alexandar

John Alexander (artist)

John Alexander is an American Landscape artist born in Beaumont, Texas. His work can be found in the permanent collections of leading museums including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Dallas Museum of Art; The Meadows Museum in Dallas, The McNay Museum in San Antonio, The...

. The vodka is quadruple-distilled, triple-filtered through charcoal

Activated carbon

Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, activated coal or carbo activatus, is a form of carbon that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions.The word activated in the name is sometimes replaced...

 and triple-filtered through Herkimer diamond

Herkimer diamond

Herkimer diamond is a generic name for a double-terminated quartz crystal discovered within exposed outcrops of dolostone in and around Herkimer County, New York and the Mohawk River Valley...

 crystals. The product is packaged in a cardboard box, sold in a clear glass bottle in the shape of a human skull that has a wooden bottle closure.

Launched in 2008, Crystal Head Vodka was the fastest penetrating product to all 50 US states in history. Crystal Head Vodka is free from any additives including citrus oil, glycerin, sugar and synthetic flavourings. The brand has been given OU Kosher certification. It is currently available in North America, Ireland, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, India, China and South East Asia.

The skulls are manufactured by Bruni Glass

Bruni Glass

Bruni Glass is a glass manufactuing company based in Milan, Italy and was founded in 1974. Bruni Glass specializes in the making of wine, liquor and food container bottles.They are also known for manufacturing the glass skulls for Crystal Head Vodka....

.

The vodka itself offers a smooth taste, with a little bit of licorice on the finish that tends to linger.

History

Dan Aykroyd, actor and musician and partner John Alexander, renowned artist, are interested in the legend of the 13 crystal skulls. It was from this inspiration, in 2007 they came up with the concept for Crystal Head Vodka. The heads are thought to offer spiritual power and enlightenment to those who possess them, and as such stands not as a symbol of death, but of life. This ‘Pure Spirit’ is the result of an integral process of creating a uniquely pure and clean vodka by avoiding the use of any additives at all in its creation.

Production

Production of Crystal Head Vodka starts with grain grown in the Kent/Chatham region of Ontario. These grains are then processed and distilled four times to produce a neutral grain spirit at 95% alcohol by volume. The raw spirit is then reduced down to 40% alcohol by volume. Water taken from deep aquifers in the Newfoundland, Canada countryside forms the heart of Crystal Head Vodka. This water seeps to the surface through a bed of porous rock which serves as a natural filter. It is this water that is used to reduce the high proof alcohol down to the legal limits required by law.
Crystal Head Vodka is filtered three times through 500-million year-old crystals know as Herkimer Diamonds. These quartz crystals are found in very few places in the world, including Herkimer, New York and regions in Tibet and Afghanistan. They are thought to have similar spiritual qualities. The production process is carried out at one of the last government owned distilling facilities in the world – The Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation.

Awards

Crystal Head Vodka was awarded a Double Gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition held in May 2011. More than 200 vodkas in total entered the competition; of this, Crystal Head Vodka was one of only a handful of brands to receive a Double Gold Medal in the entire competition.

• San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2011 - Double Gold Medal
• Whiskey Goldmine – 2011 Double Blind Taste Test - Voted #1
• Montreal Gazette – 2011 Vodka Tasting - Rated #1
• San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2009 - Silver Medal
• LA Spirits & Wine Competition: 2009 - Silver Medal - Special Jury Award for Unique Packaging
• Tasting Panel, Anthony Dias Blue, 2009 - 91 points for the Vodka
• Proof66's Aggregate Score places Crystal Head amongst the Top 20 vodkas in the world.