Kacey Musgraves, Zodiac Vodka brand ambassador and country music star, introduced the product to Tennessee with a launch event at Acme Feed & Seed Bar in Nashville on Tuesday, June 16.
The country soirée marked the craft potato spirit’s official debut in the Volunteer State and the continuation of the brand’s national rollout. In addition to Tennessee, Zodiac Vodka can be found throughout Texas, California, South Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland and Florida.
Joining Musgraves at the launch party was her fellow bandmates Misa Arriaga and Scott Quintana, plus Zodiac Vodka executives Tom Benson (founder) and Dan Liguori (CEO).
The celebration delivered a night of entertainment including complimentary Zodiac Vodka cocktails in Original and Black Cherry, mini beef and chicken biscuit sandwiches inspired by Musgrave’s song “Biscuits” and an interactive cocktail competition featuring Zodiac Vodka creations.
The contest highlighted top bartenders from local Nashville culinary institutions and encouraged attendees to sample the creations and vote for their favorite, according to a press release. Musgraves, her bandmates and local notables including Jesse Goldstein (Food Sheriff) and Abby White (Nashville Scene) joined in on the fun to judge the contest.
Competition cocktails included “Grandpa’s Ole Medicine” by Josh Whitfield of ACME Feed & Seed (Zodiac Vodka, rosemary, pomegranate, cucumber), “Can’t We Elope” by Alexis Soler of Old Glory (Zodiac Vodka, fresh cantaloupe, dill, lime, black pepper, «sinthe), “El Touro” by Daniel Ness of The Crying Wolf (Zodiac Vodka, grapefruit, homemade green pepper and honey syrup), “Purple Soul” by Fabiano Santos of Bob’s Steak & Chop House (Zodiac Vodka, cherries, mint), “Good Morning, Good Night” by Joe Henley of The Southern Steak & Oyster (Zodiac Vodka, blueberry compote, honey, lavender bitters), and “Hogs & Kisses” by Britt Soler of No. 308 (Zodiac Vodka, chili liquor, coffee, mint). “Can’t We Elope” took home first prize for both crowd and judges favorite.
Zodiac Vodka is in the midst of its national distribution rollout and will soon be available in Colorado, Illinois, Washington D.C., Arizona, Idaho, Iowa and more by the end of 2015. Zodiac’s process is a farm-to-bottle craft vodka, the company says, and produced entirely in their Rigby, Idaho-based distillery.
The certified Idaho russet potatoes benefit from the region’s rich volcanic soil, mild climate and locally sourced water from the Snake River Aquifer that runs beneath the distillery, the company says. Filtered using hand-cut Canadian Birch Charcoal, Zodiac uses a patented single-source, four-column distillation process avoiding any need to redistill.
Featured photo: Journalist Abby White, Food Sheriff’s Jesse Goldstein, craft cocktail competition winner Britt Soler of Old Glory, Kacey Musgraves, bandmate Misa Arriaga, and musician Scott Quintana attend the Official Party for Zodiac Vodka’s Debut in Tennessee.
