Celebrity Inventor: Dan Aykroyd Has A Head For Business
When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for my parents to go out for the night as the babysitter would let me stay up and watch Saturday Night Live. That’s the first time I caught funny man, Dan Aykroyd in action. No doubt, he kept me laughing way past my bedtime and later as I watched his iconic movies such as the Blues Brothers, Twilight Zone, Ghostbusters and Trading Places.
Recently, I learned he had another passion; making great vodka. Being a martini girl, I had to learn more…
I’d love to hear the backstory on how Crystal Head Vodka came to be:
I first got involved in the beverage alcohol industry when I brought Patron tequila to Canada. That’s where it all started. Over 10 years, we built it into the #1 luxury tequila brand in Canada. I then started looking into other categories. Vodka always had this fake, overly viscous, artificially sweetened taste and smelled like perfume. Everyone seemed to be doing the same thing. I learned that vodka manufacturers are adding ingredients like glycerol, citrus oils and sugars to mask the vodka taste and smell. So, with Crystal Head Vodka, we set out to create a pure and clean liquid — free from all additives. Made with pristine water from Newfoundland and good mash. We cleaned up a large portion of the premium vodka market by eliminating those additives and relying on our manufacturer’s purity to create a multi award-winning, ultra-premium vodka.
What challenges did you have when first creating the brand?
The skull shaped bottle took nearly two years to perfect. It was a challenge to find someone who could successfully create such a complex bottle. Every bottle is hand-inspected and takes up to 16 times longer to create than a standard bottle. It’s produced by leading glass manufacturers in Europe and actually contains bits of crystal to achieve absolute clarity. It’s a long process, but we do not cut any corners.
In the beginning, our skull shaped bottle was commonly associated with death. It was never an unhappy head, it doesn’t have crossbones under it. It’s bright and happy, it’s smiling. We were even banned from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. The consumer really pulled through for us. They were writing letters and web campaigning asking why it was not available in Ontario. Launching the line has not been without its struggles. It is a product we are proud of and will continue to disrupt the vodka industry with.
You have a wheat-based vodka, and a corn vodka. How do they differ from a potato vodka?
The difference is all in the taste. Different ingredients play a big factor in flavour. Crystal Head’s original blend is produced from locally sourced, Canadian corn. The taste is silky smooth with a hint of natural sweetness and vanilla. A very different result with Aurora, which is made from English wheat. It offers a drier, bolder, and spicier vodka while staying true to the Crystal Head house-style. Our Crystal Head Aurora bottle was created in celebration of the aurora borealis, with its beauty and mysterious visual properties.
Does Crystal Head vodka plan on expanding beyond vodka? If not, what is next for the brand?
Crystal Head is a vodka brand, and we continue to focus on delivering the quality we have become known to produce. The vodka category allows us to be innovative; there is so much room to experiment. Crystal Head prides itself on creating unique expressions of ultra-premium vodka that are completely additive-free. Crystal Head Vodka strives to introduce consumers to products that push boundaries and create excitement. Most recently, we released our limited-edition Pride bottle in celebration of diversity and equality. As for what’s next, we have something great in the works arriving this September — but you’ll have to wait and see!
What is one tip you can offer to future entrepreneurs that might help them in their journey?
Creativity is key in everything you do. Do not stick to common industry standards, break barriers and do things your own way. I recommend Crystal Head Vodka to get those creative juices flowing!
I couldn’t agree with you more and can’t wait to see what you have launching in September!
Follow Dan Aykroyd and his team at Crystal Head Vodka
