And LA makes six. Our/Vodka, a vodka brand headed by Pernod Ricard has teamed up with two entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, California to build their latest micro distillery. This newest effort in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles is born of a partnership between Tyler Simmons (L) and Steven Ocheltree (R) – co-founders of creative agency Sew.
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A Unique Flavor in Each City
Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles. Click image to see full size.
In each city, Our/Vodka is partly-distilled, blended and hand-bottled in the micro-distillery according to the same global recipe, but with the use of different, locally-sourced ingredients, giving each vodka its own, unique flavor profile. For most large brands, the idea that each city would have a slightly different flavor would be hard to swallow after all, the vodka is the brand. However, in the case of Our/Vodka this is an experiment to show that a large company can go small – an experiment now in its third year.
Our/Vodka always looks the same, with it’s small sized, simple bottle, sealed with a crown cap that looks more beer like than spirits like but each city gives its name and character to the vodka. Once the distillery has launched, it is operated by local entrepreneurs who, driven by a deep love for their city, are in charge of creating the personality of Our/Vodka in their town the way they feel best suited for their city. Within the Our/Vodka family, the distilleries are siblings with the same genes, but with their own unique personalities. Again, this concept likely drives the corporate brand czar’s nut’s to have to relinquish even the smallest bit of a brands identity. If you like this Arts District map, you may purchase your own copy here.
Ocheltree and Simmons say that with their backgrounds in non-profits, community action and design, they believe that doing the right thing for the community can also be a profitable thing for the corporate clients they work with. Spurred by their passion for the downtown LA Arts District, Our/Los Angeles is set to challenge the current perception of a Tinseltown vodka being celebrity, glitz and glam.
LA Makes 6 Our/Vodkas, Soon to be 9
Our/Los Angeles is the sixth member of the Our/Vodka brand family which has already successfully launched in,
- Berlin
- Amsterdam
- London
- Detroit
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
Following Los Angeles, Our/Vodka is set to launch in New York, Miami and Houston.
“What has driven our partnership with Our/Vodka has been shared ideals of a local, grassroots approach to building a brand that people feel ownership over,” say Simmons and Ocheltree.
“Steven and Tyler’s work with Sew and their presence in Downtown LA, makes them a great fit with Our/Vodka and our values,” says Asa Caap, Our/Vodka Co-Founder and CEO. “Their community-centered ethos is at the heart of Our/Los Angeles.”
Arnold Holstein Stills
A Black Ops Project Inside of Pernod Ricard
The idea to create a vodka that is both global and local was born in Stockholm in 2010. Our/Vodka is the brainchild of Founder and CEO Åsa Caap and was treated as a “black ops” secret project within Pernod Ricard before the first distillery opened in 2013, in Berlin. Åsa Caap developed the idea together with four entrepreneurs from the Swedish agency Great Works.
Our/Vodka is bottled at 40% ABV, 80° proof and retails for $20 for a 375ml bottle. The new Our/Los Angeles Distillery is located at 915 South Sante Fe Avenue, Los Angeles, CA.
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