Tito's Handmade Vodka
Tito's Handmade Vodka is produced in Austin at Texas' first and oldest legal distillery. It's made in small batches in an old-fashioned pot still by Tito Beveridge (actual name), a 45-year-old Geologist, and is distilled six times.
“Our handcrafted technique offers more control over the distillation process, resulting in a spectacularly clean product of incomparable excellence. Only the heart of the run, 'the nectar' is taken, leaving behind residual higher and lower alcohols. The vodka is cleansed of phenols, esters, congenersand organic acids by filtering it through the finest activated carbon available.1)”
History
Tito Beveridge is from San Antonio, Texas. He went to Vanderbilt for a year then to UT, University of Texas at Austin. He graduated with degrees in geology and geophysics. He got into the oil and gas business but got tired of chasing the buck and decided to move back to Austin, Tx.
Tito tried ground water geology in Austin and then got into the mortgage business; it was here that he started making flavored vodka for his friends for Christmas presents in the early 1990s. “I was at a party one time and a stranger came up to me and said 'Hey you're the vodka guy' and I was like no, contraire, I am the mortgage guy,” said Tito. This encounter really got Tito thinking seriously about producing vodka.
Unable to get real financing, Tito saved up while working overseas and built up an $88,000 debt on 19 credit cards. He built a one-man distillery and a production still, launching him into the vodka business. At one point, he received a phone call to come to the World Spirits Competition and he sent a couple bottles of Tito's Handmade Vodka, which ended up receiving the double gold medal, the unanimous judges' choice. The victory over 72 vodkas around the world, including flavored vodkas, put Tito's Handmade Vodka on the map.
Tito sold 1,000 cases in 1997 and 2,000 in 1998. Since launch, Tito has built great momentum and brand recognition. In 2008, Tito's Handmade Vodka sold 230,000 cases.
Awards
Unanimous Judges' Choice Double Gold Medal at The World Spirits Competition: Tito's Handmade Vodka's double gold medal placed it above other respected brands, such as Stolichnaya, Ketel One, Belvedere, Chopin, Skyy, Smirnoff, Friis, Born, and many others.