OUR/VODKA THE WORLDS FIRST GLOBAL VODKA WITH LOCAL ROOTS

After a successful introduction in Berlin, Our/Vodka – the first global vodka with local roots – sets out to redraw the vodka map. Together with local partners, Our/Vodka, a Pernod Ricard brand, will open micro distilleries in eleven cities across the US, Europe and Australia. Our/Detroit will open during the summer and Our/Seattle, Our/New York, Our/Amsterdam, Our/Los Angeles & Our/London later 2014. Our/Austin, Our/Miami, Our/Nashville, Our/New Orleans and Our/Melbourne will follow.

“Finding the right partner in each city is crucial. Since we hand over the responsibility of running the local brand and business to them, it has turned out to be our most critical task. In fact, we only team up with people who we could see ourselves spending holidays with,” says Åsa Caap, founder of Our/Vodka and former Innovations Director at Pernod Ricard “Our/Vodka does not have much in common with other spirit brands. In every city, we partner with local entrepreneurs who love their city – and together, we open boutique distilleries with a grass roots approach, that represents the local community,” Åsa continues. The distillery in New York, will double as a tasting room, shop and event space, while the Detroit distillery will partner with local organizations for events and communal forums.

“When this project was first introduced to me, I didn’t think it was something we should get involved in. Pernod Ricard is a large company, and Our/Vodka is unlike everything we’re good at. At the same time I was very attracted to the idea. It reminded me of 1979 when Absolut challenged every convention in the vodka market. Now we’re doing it again, and it feels perfectly right,” says Jonas Tåhlin, VP Global Marketing at The Absolut Company, the mother company of Our/Vodka.

Our/Vodka is made with the same recipe, but every distillery will use ingredients sourced as local as possible. This means that each city not only lends it’s name, but also a specific local character to the vodka.

The local partners will market the vodka in their own fashion. “This is about building a unique business in each city. Our/Berlin is run by fashion people, Our/Detroit by three social entrepreneurs and Our/New York by skate and bike aficionados. Of course they will end up differently, and that’s the beauty of it”, says Kalle Söderquist, Creative Director for Our/Vodka and partner at the Swedish agency Great Works.

Our/Vodka comes in a small bottle with a crown cap. It’s smooth and fresh with a fruity note, and composed to mix well with any mixer. “Keep it simple. It’s vodka.”

Our/Vodka was developed by a small group of entrepreneurs and ended up as a start-up project under the umbrella of Pernod Ricard. It is a unique concept for marketing and distributing vodka and it was initiated by Åsa Caap and co-created with Kalle Söderqvist, Mattias Nyström, Ted Persson, Ola Persson and Mårten Magnusson from the Swedish agency Great Works, as well as Vincent Hoarau from the Pernod Ricard Research Center.

LAUNCH SCHEDULE

Our/Detroit will open in Southwest, Detroit in June 2014. The team will partner with local community organizations to host events at the distillery. Local partner: Kate Bordine, Sara Aldridge and Brandi Keeler. Kate is is currently the Executive Director of a non-profit, Ponyride, where she develops platforms for creative and social entrepreneurs to scale by providing affordable studio space. Sara has had the opportunity to get her hands dirty in a wide realm of Detroit’s creative and professional employment endeavors. She was involved in the urban agriculture non-profit, the Greening of Detroit, and she is one half of the all female DJ collective dubbed Nothing Elegant. Brandi is an art director involved in Challenge Detroit, a revitalization initiative aimed at attracting and retaining talent to live and work in Detroit. She looks forward to leverage the Our/Detroit brand for entrepreneurship and relevant community engagement. Contact: detroit@ourvodka.com, Sara Aldridge

“Our/Detroit will build a stage for local voices. We will be authentic to the cultural fabric and we will be a contributor for revitalization in Detroit” says Kate Bordine.

Our/Seattle
Seattle partners will soon be announced. The distillery will be located on 1836 Market Street in Ballard, Seattle, and will be ready for launch in September 2014. Contact: seattle@ourvodka.com.

Our/New York
The first distillery in Manhattan since the 1920s, will open in November 2014. The micro distillery will double as a tasting room, shop and event/gallery space. Local partners: Dave Ortiz and Kevin Carney, founders of Dave’s Wear House, a lifestyle store with an eclectic mix of products from bikes and skateboards to sneakers and jeans. Dave’s Wear House has planned, organized and hosted some of the most innovative events in the community over the last two years. Co-founders Dave and Kevin frequently enlist local nonprofits along with major brands and taste makers to create profitable partnerships while giving back to the community and having a bunch of fun.
Contact: Dave Ortitz: +1 347 556 9540, Kevin Carney: +1 917 880 0611, newyork@ourvodka.com

“Our/Vodka is interesting because it isn’t based on superficial ideas, it’s real people that are from the city that any person can relate to. It’s not a celebrity endorsement which to me has been done and is very transparent,” says David Ortitz. “The other cities are like our brothers and sisters, we are all different but we have the same DNA. What we envision for our city is to tell OUR story and to grow a brand that New Yorkers can identify with.” Kevin Carney of Our/New York and Dave’s Wear House.

Our/LA, Our/Amsterdam & Our/London
Partners will soon be announced and launches are scheduled for late 2014. Contact: globalteam@ourvodka.com.

Our/Miami, Our/Melbourne, Our/Austin, Our/Nashville and Our/New Orleans
Launches are scheduled for 2015. Contact: globalteam@ourvodka.com.

Our/Berlin
Our/Berlin opened up at Am Flutgraben 2 in Treptow, Berlin in March, 2013. Run by local entrepreneurs Jon Sanders and Pauline Hoch, the tiny distillery is a bar, an event space and liquor store.
For more info, visit ourvodka.com/berlin. Contact: hello@ourberlin.de.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

ÅSA CAAP, GLOBAL BRAND DIRECTOR AND CEO, asa.caap@ourvodka.com, +46 708 211 765, KALLE SÖDERQUIST, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, kalle.soderquist@ourvodka.com, +46 707 445 792

PRESS IMAGE & FILMS ARE AVAILIBLE AT OURVODKA.COM/PRESS
Please observe that Our/Vodka is run outside of the local Pernod Ricard affiliates.