Celebrate National Vodka Day with Neft Vodka

CELEBRATE NATIONAL VODKA DAY WITH FRESH, CLEAN, AND CRISP NEFT VODKA

NEFT VODKA IS CREATED FROM TWO INGREDIENTS, NOTHING ELSE

Bartender Magazine has a candid talk with NEFT Global CEO, Jeff Mahony and Master
Mixologist, Luke Barr

National Vodka Day (October 4) is not only a perfect occasion to enjoy vodka cocktails, but also an ideal opportunity to try something new and different.

Most vodka is distilled from corn, wheat, or potatoes, but increasingly vodkas made from other ingredients are finding their way behind the bar. An example of that is ultra-premium NEFT Vodka, a high-quality small-batch vodka produced in Austria from ancient grains of non-GMO rye and mineral-rich pure mountain spring water filtered centuries deep beneath the Austrian Alps. Just those two ingredients, nothing else.

“Non-GMO is a hallmark of Austria, all crops there are non-GMO, they’re mandated to be that way. It’s a great place to source our grain,” says NEFT’s CEO Jeff Mahony. “The other ingredient in NEFT is our oxygen-rich spring water. Virtually all water in Austria is spring water, it’s one of the cleanest in the world. So that gives our vodka a pure, fresh, refined soft taste.”

The team at NEFT Vodka are particularly focused on growing the brand in the on-premise channel, which Mahony says is by far the most important factor in growing the brand’s success. NEFT is well-suited for bars and restaurants because the brand’s natural and sophisticated flavor-forward taste works incredibly well as a sipping vodka, or in a martini, or in any number of inventive cocktails. It’s also increasingly being utilized in food recipes too.

“Our precise taste is all by design. Through our copper pot still distillation process our goal is to enhance the flavor of our spirit so that bartenders like me can use that as the foundation of spirit-forward cocktails,” explains Luke Barr, NEFT’s Los Angeles-based mixologist. “NEFT helps create a great customer experience.”

Just as unique as NEFT’s taste, is the brand’s innovative container. NEFT Vodka is packaged in an unbreakable metal barrel which not only stands out on the bar, but also aligns with the brand’s sustainability mission.

“The primary driver was to create something eco-friendly,” says Mahony. “At NEFT we’re all about sustainable choices. Our barrel is not just unbreakable, it’s made of tin and aluminum which is about three times the amount of reclaimed content versus what glass is. So, it’s easier to recycle and it has a lower carbon footprint when we transport it because it weighs less.”

The metal package also keeps the vodka cold for at least six hours, which is ideal for bottle service at outdoor accounts, especially poolside.  (For high volume accounts that prefer or need a traditional glass bottle, NEFT is also available in 750ml bottles.)

Through the brand’s “Raise it Up” philanthropic platform, the NEFT Vodka team are also highly committed to giving back to the bartender community. That includes support for out-of-work bartenders, particularly those who are single mothers, which is in alignment with the brand’s charitable focus on children and women. They also recently created a program called “Young Mixologists” to showcase – and broadcast in several markets – the talent of up-and-coming bartenders.

“Bartenders and mixologists are really our front line, they’re critical to our success, and that’s why we give back to the bartender community as best we can,” Mahoney says.