Bakon Vodka Toasts Success of First Year with Expansion, Awards, and the Acclaimed "Bakon Mary"

    SEATTLE, WA, June 15, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In just a year, Bakon Vodka, the world's first 'meat-flavored spirit', has become one of the most talked about and fastest growing vodkas. Launched by three friends in Seattle in May 2009, the parent company, Black Rock Spirits, has expanded from their initial two state pilot launch to distribution in 20 states in just one year. The company expects to sell well over $1m of bacon-flavored vodka this year.

The popularity among drinkers is due in part to the vodka's reputation for enhancing the Bloody Mary. "Not surprisingly, it makes for what is quite possibly the best Bloody Mary of all time." says Richard Goldsmith, the Spirits Reviewer for Fox News' BYO. "The Bakon Mary is here to stay," says co-founder Sven Liden. "People who try a Bloody Mary with the smoky flavor of bacon won't go back."

The high quality potato vodka has won acclaim with professional tasters and judges, too. Matthew Cloutier of Food & Beverage World says that it is "among the smoothest vodkas I have ever had with absolutely no bite... It gave the drink a hint of smokiness and of course a subtle bacon flavor that really, really worked well."

The vodka also recently received the 2010 Silver Medal in the Wine and Spirits category of the BeverageWorld BevStar Awards. Bakon Vodka has become a top choice for people who love savory cocktails. "When we came up with this concept, it was purely out of fun," says Mr. Liden. "But there really turned out to be a strong need for this type of savory flavor in drinks like a Bloody Mary. And, we found out that the Bakon Vodka flavor adds an element to other drinks that's been missing to date."

Expansion has been driven primarily by grassroots support and social networks are abuzz with interest in the success of Bakon Vodka. Marketing communications giant JWT predicts "bacon to be one of the top food and beverage trends of 2010." The consumer desire to try bacon and vodka together is not surprising; "vodka" and "bacon" are mentioned 1.4 and 1.7 million times respectively on Twitter. Bakon Vodka's Twitter account was independently rated as the "most influential #bacon tag on Twitter", their Facebook page has more than 6000 fans, and bakonvodka.com generated hundreds of thousands of unique visitors to date - not typical of an everyday liquor company web site.

"We're excited that we've been successful in creating a new brand, and a new category of liquor," says Mr. Liden. "'Carnivorous Cocktails' have started appearing as regular menu items in bars across the country, so the concept has gone from 'weird' to 'why didn't somebody think of this earlier?'"

Bakon Vodka is currently available in Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New York, Oregon, and Washington, and will be shipping to Alaska, Southern California, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin by Father's Day (June 20th).

The company is looking into further expansion both nationally and internationally. "Some Facebook fans in Denmark started a page called 'Bring Bakon Vodka to Denmark' which got the attention of a local importer," says co-founder and Sales Manager Stefan Schachtell. "We've had similar requests from all over the globe, so we're looking forward to similar success exporting the product."

Bakon Vodka retails for around $30 and can be found in many bars, restaurants and liquor stores. If you don't see it in your favorite bar, ask your bartender to contact the distributor in their area. Distributor information, recipes and where to find Bakon Vodka can be found at www.bakonvodka.com.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Jennifer K. Ritchie
Revolution PR for Bakon Vodka
[email protected]
206-932-2454

Sven Liden
Black Rock Spirits
[email protected]
206-786-7473

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