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Drink To Earth Day With Yet 10 More Organic Vodkas!



above composite image ©if it's hip, it's here

Today is the celebration of annual Earth Day. So why not raise a glass of Organic Vodka to toast our planet? This is my Part II post about certified Organic Vodkas and/ or Green-related Vodkas, calling attention to some of the newer ones on the market or ones that were not in my initial post of 10 Organic Vodkas. Cheers!


1. Pure Green Vodka


The Pure Green Vodka Company was born from the idea that an organic mindset can apply to the spirit industry, and that genuine handcraft and quality can rhyme with sustainable organic production.

The team behind The Pure Green Vodka Company comes from a background that spans across the beverage industry: From distillation to import, from spirit sommelerie to high-end mixology. With years of experience in their field, international track record and a resolute “green thinking” approach to this project, they set up to analyze every aspects of the production in order to create a highly qualitative spirit, with an irreproachable organic pedigree. 



above: the team behind Sweden's Pure Green Vodka

From farming methods and production, to transport and bottling, the Pure Green Vodka Company has kept the same uncompromising green thinking principles, and was the very first Vodka to ever be awarded by the EEC the prestigious Eco certification “Organic Farming”, that stands now proudly on the back of the bottle.

The final product, Pure Green vodka, is a rich and full-bodied vodka with crisp minerals, proud of its origins and it’s organic identity.

Pure Green™ is made solely from the finest organic wheat and French well water from the calcium rich soil of the Charentes region in France. Distilled six times and cold filtered, the vodka is pure and well structured, yet retaining all its original wheat character.


Pure Green Vodka


2. Filip Premium Organic Vodka


Made from organic winter wheat imported from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. It's 5x distilled and 3 x filtered, making it one of the purest vodkas on the market. And with no added sugars or preservatives, it's 30 to 40 calories less per serving than most other vodkas.


above Jen and Andre Filip of Filip Vodka (image courtesy of the green girls)

Filip Vodka

3. Sunshine Vodka


Sunshine Vodka, from Vermont's Green Mountain Distillery, begins with the purchase of the highest quality Certified Organic, GMO free grain. The grain comes from a family farmer owned co-op and is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers. The grain is used in a process called Saccharification, where starches are converted to fermentable sugars. These sugars are then combined with our proprietary yeast in a fermentation process to create alcohol. The yeast eats the sugar and gives off alcohol as a by product. The fermented liquid is then transferred to the still where distillation begins. Distillation is a method for the separation and removal of alcohol by means of evaporation.

By keeping precise temperature parameters in the still only the finest alcohol is evaporated away. The pure alcohol vapors rise in the still until they are carried, by the lyne arm, thru the condenser where cooling temperatures cause them to return to a liquid form. The resulting liquid, which is at close to 190 proof, is then combined with the purest Vermont Spring Water to form the finest of distilled spirits.

Because of the precise temperatures and the quality of the ingredients used, for those at Green Mountain Distillers, the production process ends here. They have no need for extraneous filtrations or additions to hide or mask unwanted flavors and impurities.


Sunshine Vodka

4. Crop harvest Earth Vodkas


Starting with the purely finest ingredients available, Crop Harvest Earth Vodkas are USDA certified organic, artisanal vodkas produced from grain grown on Americas plains. Crop organic grain is harvested from fertile, healthy soil free of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and chemicals, and Crop Vodkas are distilled so efficiently that no carbon treatment or charcoal filtering is required.

Crop 80 Proof Organic Artisanal Vodka has a refreshingly crisp, clean, pure taste. Crop Organic Cucumber Vodka captures the essence of freshly sliced cucumbers while Organic Tomato Vodka perfectly conveys the flavor of a vine-ripened tomato.


Crop Vodkas


5. ON (Organic Nation) Vodka



Diane and David came to a distilling career in a circuitous way. First, they fell in love in 2004 over several Martinis. Then, over a vodka Martini during the summer of 2006, they decided they wanted to make our own Vodka. And it would have to be Organic Vodka. So, they instituted their own training program and visited as many micro-distilleries as they could in Oregon, meeting some great people who since have become great friends.



After a year of getting the myriad of legal aspects taken care of, they ran an ad in the American Distiller’s Institutes e-newsletter for a Master Distiller.

Thomas McKenzie, of Alabama fame and fortune, who was weaned by the ‘Moonshiners’ of the early 1900’s, replied to their ad and in his smooth southern accent and effervesence style convinced them to hire him. Since then, they have done business with Box, Bottle, Cork, and Label Brokers, to mention a few. They have worked with the federal, state and local governments for Licensing. They claim to have had more than their share of good fortune and good friends giving them good advice. And, the rest is history in the making.



Organic Nation Spirits



6. Liquid Ice Vodka



One of kind vodka, made by distilling five (5) grains, (Wheat, Corn, Barley, Rye & Oat) all certified 100% organic.

Liquid Ice is the only vodka that can claim that’s its completely certified organic from start to finish as its distillery is the only one in the United States authorized to do so. So much that they put a certified statement on each and every bottle to prove it.

Liquid Ice is made with water from one of the world’s healthiest & cleanest aquifer, the Snake River. The Snake River runs right under the distillery, which is the home of some of the best known hand crafted vodkas, either made from potato or grain.



Liquid Ice is distilled four times for the cleanest, freshest taste and thus produces some of the highest viscosity in vodka in the world. Then it is filtered three times, through the world’s richest source of minerals, lava rock.

Liquid Ice is a vodka that can claim, “It is truly the only one of its kind”. No other vodka produced in the world can claim its multi grain, 100% certified organic and Kosher!


Liquid International Spirits

7. Ocean Vodka




Ocean Vodka is distilled in Idaho from organic grains then shipped to Maui where it's blended with pure Hawaiian deep sea water pumped up from depths of 3,000 feet of the Kona Coast of the Big Island by a company cleverly named MaHaLo (the Hawaiian word for thanks). Water from that depth has no man-made chemicals and no bacteria. Or so the sales pitch goes. The salt is removed topside.



Handcrafted and bottled on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, OCEAN Vodka is a meticulous blend of the finest organic spirits and pristine MaHaLo Hawaii Deep SeaTM Water from 500 fathoms below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. A touch of sea salt balances everything out.
Ocean Vodka


8. Vodka 14


Distilled at the foot of the majestic Teton range of the Rocky Mountains, Vodka 14 is wholly dedicated to a single, simple proposition: that by combining exceptional ingredients and meticulous distillation, our small, independent, family run company based in Boulder, Colorado can offer a product superior to mass-market brands both imported and domestic. If the finest ingredients are the heart of a remarkable vodka, exceptional distillation is the soul.

In crafting Vodka 14 they blend five generations of distilling heritage with the best of modern technology: a four-column continuous distillation system. In a continuous still the mash (the fermented grain) is heated until it becomes a vapor, rising towards the top of the still. As it rises, the distillate vapors condense back into a liquid state and cascade back down, beginning the process anew. This cycle allows the mixture inside the column to be re-distilled continuously, whereas in a conventional still the vapors would pass into a gas state once and then be collected.



After distillation, Vodka 14 is passed through an advanced activated carbon and crystal filtration process. Combining this sophisticated distillation technology with the meticulous attention inherent in small-batch production, Vodka 14 achieves a purity of distillation befitting its remarkable organic ingredients.




9. Prairie Vodka


Prairie is a beautifully smooth vodka distilled from organic #2 yellow corn and certified both organic and kosher. Each batch of Prairie is distilled as many times as necessary to yield the desired character and smoothness, typically between four to six times through a column still. The spirit opens with hints of melon and pear on the nose, followed by creaminess on the palate and a bright and smooth finish.



In the spirit of self-reliance, leftover corncobs and other biomass are converted on-site at the distillery to biogas energy for powering the stills. In addition, the Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), a co-product of distillation, is returned to farms for reuse as feed. Since Prairie is crafted many thousands of miles closer to home than imported brands, it also requires significantly less petroleum to bring to market.



Prairie was recognized at the 2008 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirit Awards with a Gold Medal Spirit Award, Gold Medal Packaging Design Award, Best of Overall Package, and Best Package of Show.
Prairie Vodka

10. Akvinta


Akvinta Vodka is touted as the Mediterranean's First Luxury Organic Vodka. It has been certified as an organic vodka by US Agricultural Department. Akvinta is carefully crafted using premium ingredients such as alcohol distilled from finest quality wheat and a revolutionary Quintuple Filtration system that uses five natural filters to purify the water and the finished product in turn.

When tasted, Akvinta has a distinctive but subtle aftertaste – just like spring water tastes when compared to plain table water.

Akvinta vodka is manufactured from Grain Neutral Spirit (GNS), distilled out of organically grown grain from Faenza, Italy.



In August 2008, Dister S.p.a. was awarded two certificates confirming organic origin of alcohol: Certificate of Conformity to the EEC 2092/91 Regulations and the Certificate of Organic Operation in conformity to US Agricultural Department standard of National Organic Programme (USDA-NOP)
Akvinta Vodka


Okay... before you write me and tell me what I'm missing, you'd better search the blog first. I've written many previous posts on both premium and organic vodkas and may have already written about them.

Now With Flavor!

Many of the Vodkas I wrote about in my first post on Organic vodkas - or in my post about 25 unusual Vodkas, have since come out with flavored vodkas, such as:

360 Vodka

Tru Vodka

Square One:

Rain Vodka


My first article on New Green and Organic vodkas, included the following ten vodkas:
• 360 Vodka
• Rain Vodka
• UK5 Vodka
• Square One Vodka
• Reyka Vodka
• Lotus Vodka
• VeeV vodka
• Purus vodka
• Snow Leopard Vodka
• Death's Door Vodka.

Part I: Can Imbibing Save The Planet? 10 New Green Vodkas

And my post on Premium and Unusual Vodkas included the following organic vodkas:
• Tru Organic Vodka
• Triple 8 Vodka

Interested in learning about other Organic Cocktails? Then I highly recommend Organic, Shaken and Stirred: Hip Highballs, Modern Martinis and Other Totally Green Cocktails by Paul Abercrombie




Other Vodka posts that may interest you:
•Stunningly designed Vodka Bottles
•Dan Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka
•Belvedere's 1X Vodka


72 Eco-Friendly Finds For Earth Day!



The Hippest Earth Friendly Products For Earth Day

From Hotels to home decor, in celebration of Annual Earth Day, here's a bunch of eco-friendly, green, sustainable, organic, re-purposed, recycled, recyclable, reclaimed and just plain rockin' finds. Just click on the image above for more info and a link to purchase.

There's more to see on my The Hippest Earth Friendly Products For Earth Day list!

Love your planet.


The Earth Day network
Envirolink network

Levi's Integrates Facebook's Like Button On Their Own Site




Levi's is betting on the fact that you care what other people think. More specifically, what they 'like'. One of the first brands to utilize the social networking concept of the thumbs up "like" button found on Facebook, they've integrated Facebook's new social plug-ins into their online shopping site.



the press release:
The Levi’s® brand today announced at Facebook’s f8 conference the introduction of an innovative new way to shop for jeans online. With the launch, the Levi’s® brand is among the first companies to integrate with Facebook’s new Social Plugins. The Levi’s® brand will provide shoppers with an interactive, customized shopping experience on levi.com (based on consumers’ “Likes”), information about “Top-Liked” products across consumers’ networks, and an easy way to find and share relevant Levi’s® products.



“We’re creating a new social shopping experience that will change the way people shop online and, frankly, make buying jeans more fun. We’re excited to pioneer this new technology and help our loyal fans connect with our brand and share their favorite Levi’s® products with friends.”

Jodi Bricker, Vice President of Digital for Levi’s® Americas said, “We’re creating a new social shopping experience that will change the way people shop online and, frankly, make buying jeans more fun. We’re excited to pioneer this new technology and help our loyal fans connect with our brand and share their favorite Levi’s® products with friends.”



As part of today’s announcement, Facebook introduced a new set of Social Plugins that can be easily integrated into a website to make the user experience more personalized and social. Powered by the Open Graph, these new plugins include a “Like” functionality, Activity Feed, and Recommendation widget that bring friends, social activity and relevant interactions to any site off of Facebook.com.

The Levi’s® brand is integrating the “Like” functionality on its e-commerce site – levi.com. In addition, the Levi’s® brand is building a Friend Store in which consumers who are logged into Facebook can see a list of their friends’ favorite Levi’s® products and seamlessly shop with their friends.

The Levi’s® brand is innovating with social and digital media on its Facebook page, in advertising and on its e-commerce website. Last month the brand leveraged its Levi’s® Facebook Page to amplify their ninth annual Levi’s®/FADER Fort event – a music festival in Austin, Texas. This initiative grew the fan base by 60 percent and garnered more than 780,000 live streams of the event.


test it out here:


You can explore how other sites integrate Facebook here.

16w21 Apartments By Zac Posen Get Dolled Up In Their New Ad Campaign.




To promote designer Zac Posen's new residential loft apartments, 16 west 21st street in New York (referred to as 16w21), Imagination NYC created an ad campaign using 12" articulated dolls as the main characters to represent the hip, urban, sophisticated "Model Life."





The five "Model Apartment" videos (all shown later in this post) air in New York taxicabs (but only within a 10 bock radius of the building) and online. The integrated campaign also features print, outdoor and digital ads, also shown in this post.

A smart move given that the apartments are not yet completed (i.e. no sets yet) and that dolls are far less expensive to shoot than models (no residuals!). In addition to the creative cost-cutting techniques, by using Ken and Barbie-like dolls in stop motion animation for the Anthem video and the four other Model Room videos, they attract an edgier, more youthful audience.

The Print Ads:







The Promotional Videos


The Model Apartments Anthem Spot:




The Model Living Room:



The Model Bedroom:



The Model Kitchen:



The Model Bathroom:



   

The amenities, designed by fashion designer Zac Posen.

The Building has: Keyless remote entry with 24 hour offsite monitoring, a part time doorman with virtual doorman services, Spa and Fitness center, refrigerated storage and package room, keyed elevator access, 9 foot high ceilings, oak flooring, solid wood doors and Bosch washers and dryers and a common roof deck. Bathrooms have: Regency Noir Mosiac tile flooring, Siberian white marble wall tiles, Venetian style stucco wall finishes, custom designed mirrored vanity cabinets with double wet style sinks, Zuma Whirlpool and Airbath Tub, Duravit WC, Robern mirrored medicine cabinets with integrated electric outlet and Lefroy Brooks Mackintosh series fixtures in Polished Chrome. Kitchens have: Porcelain enamel cast iron sinks, Lefroy Brooks faucets, Direct vent Meile hoods, Miele gas cooktop, electric oven, dishwasher; Subzero Combination Refrigerator/Freezer, Wine Storage, Trousdale Marble mosaic floor, and Venetian White marble wall tiles, countertops and Tub surrounds.  

The Architect

16W21'S principal architect, Morris Adjmi, is globally renown for realizing visions that both "fit in and stand out" with their respective context. In the instance of his most recent project, Adjmi drew inspiration from the neoclassical limestone and white-washed brick buildings of New York's Ladies Mile Historic District. And then he reimagined the neighborhood's vernacular. By combining contemporary vision, cutting-edge building technologies, and a custom glass facade, cut in Spain by Cricursa, he has produced a residence that is, like ice, whiter than white, reflecting the history of a city and establishing a modern landmark that frames the warmth of the light and vibrancy of the life within. The 14 stories will be divided into 9 units; 1 garden "townhouse," 5 full-floors, 2 duplexes and a triplex penthouse with prices starting in the mid $2 million dollars. below are artist renderings of the Penthouse and Townhouse floor plans (please click to enlarge and see a clearer image):



The building in progress:
 
above: MA’s 16 W 21st Street project, a residential loft building going up in the Ladies Mile Historic District near the famed Flatiron Building, recently topped out at 14 stories. A special topping out ceremony/spiritual offering was hosted by the building owner. When complete, this unique building will boast a facade constructed entirely out of glass (columns, spandrels, cornice, etc.) that will mimic the historic details of the district.

 16w21 

Related links:
Zac Posen MA Imagination

Designers Get Disney-ized. Cartoon Couture Fashion From Elle Espana.




In the August 2007 issue of Harper's Bazaar, the Simpsons posed in couture and just this past week we saw SHREK posing in a fashion editorial for Vman magazine.



Well, the cartooning of couture continues with the April 2010 issue of Elle España.

The fashion editorial, La Moda Animada, is ten illustrated pages in which famous fashion designers have been Disney-ized. Karl Lagerfeld takes on a Goofy appearance, Donatella Versace, Marc Jacobs, Nathalie and Sonia Rykiel, Alber Elbaz and John Galliano all become members of the Donald Duck clan and Jean Paul Gaultier, along with Dolce & Gabbana become Donald, Goofy and Mickey respectively.

Minnie, The Three Little Pigs, Lilo and Stitch, and Toy Story characters make appearances as well. See for yourself.

Here is the entire 10 page editorial scanned from the Spanish fashion magazine:







Elle España

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