Purity Vodka’s 100 Gold Medal Celebration in pictures
At the end of September, Purity Vodka invited SB along to commemorate its 100th gold medal win with a grand three-day celebration in Sweden and Copenhagen. A guestlist of esteemed bartenders and writers from across the globe gathered at the home of Purity’s distillery, Ellinge Castle in Sweden, to celebrate the brand’s success in a variety of renowned blind tasting competitions around the world – including our own Global Spirits Masters competitions.
An action-packed itinerary awaited guests, which comprised Ian Adams of The Tasting Panel/15 Romolo, San Francisco; Julio Cabrera of Regent Cocktail Club, Miami; Ryan Chetiyawardana of Dandelyan and White Lyan, London; Alex Kratena of Artesian, London; Erin Davey of Mandarin Hide, Tampa Bay; Andreas Grube of Café Magazine, Stockholm; Thommy Gyllenbielke of Golden Design, Stockholm; Robert Haynes Peterson of Askmen.com, New York; Oskar Johansson of Corner Club, Stockholm; Nick Kobbernagel Hovind of Ruby, Copenhagen; Anna Kremen of Dead Rabbit, New York; Don Lee of Cocktail Kingdom, New York; Miles Macquarrie of The Kimball House, Decatur; Ulysses Vidal of Employees Only, New York; Pamela Wiznitzer of Seamstress. New York; and Annie Hayes, of The Spirits Business, London.
After a quick bite of Smörgåstårta – a savoury ‘sandwich cake’ made up of several layers of white bread with meat and salad fillings inbetween – Lord of the Manor Mikael Wehtje took our group on a guided tour of Ellinge Castle which dates back to the 12th Century.
Purity Vodka’s master blender, Thomas Kuuttanen, then walked us through the distillery, explaining the exclusive process that goes into creating each bottle of Purity Vodka. Produced in a proprietary vodka still made of copper and gold, using only natural ingredients including wheat, barley, and mineral rich water, the vodka is distilled 34 times for a “unique yet complex” taste.
Kuuttanen said: “I think the secret to success for us is we have not tried to please the masses. I have created a vodka the way I like it myself. I realise everyone doesn’t have to like it because we’re out of the norm, in the same way Single Malt whisky is. We’re a vodka drinkers vodka, for people who truly appreciate it.”
We then undertook a comparative vodka tasting of five different brands, guided by Kuuttanen and finishing with Purity Vodka.
He said: “More and more consumers are now beginning to change their view on vodka, appreciating qualities in vodka the same way as they do with Bourbon or Cognac.
“The ‘I hate vodka’ movement that happened about five or six years ago was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to the industry because it was heading in the wrong direction. It made everyone stop and think, “what are we doing? What will this result in?” and they realised that you can’t only sell vodka by using marketing, you actually need to have some kind of content.
“For us it was a fantastic thing that happened, even if it was a little bit of a speedbump. It made people realise that there are differences between different vodka brands and producers and countries and so on.”
After enjoying a variety of Purity Vodka cocktails created by bartender and guest Oskar Johansson, we sat down to a Smörgåsbord created by Peter J. Skogström, Sweden’s former Chef of the Year. We toasted each new course with an animated round of popular Swedish drinking song Helan Går, and concluded the evening with a cocktail containing barrel-aged Purity Vodka – a creation by US brand ambassador Duane Fernandez Junior.
We rose at the crack of dawn the following morning to embark upon a hot air balloon ride, preparing and assembling the balloon as a team. In just a few short hours it was time to fly, and we climbed into the basket armed with a hamper containing ingredients, cocktail shakers and two bottles of Purity Vodka.
Once we were up in the air, Fernandez Junior broke open the hamper and shook up a specially-created Purity Vodka cocktail for everyone to enjoy. Skål!
He said: “To win 100 gold medals in such a short time is extraordinary, and to be a part of it is a complete honour. Every day I watch it grow – I’m part of a movement before it’s even a movement.
“I look forward to the world getting on board and appreciating quality in the vodka category.”
Back on land, our successful flight was toasted with Champagne, and each of us were baptised as a Count or Countess of the town we landed in.
On returning to Ellinge Castle, the group were lead through a Caviar tasting by Jacob Marsing-Rossini, founder of Rossini Caviar. The tasting was followed by a Caviar lunch, designed, created and served by David Ørn Hakonarson of Kong Hans Kælder in Copenhagen.
Before long it was time to don our very best black tie attire and make our way to Ruby in Copenhagen for a pre-dinner cocktail.
The grand 100 Gold dinner was held at “gastronomic mecca” two Michelin star Nordic restaurant, Noma. Guests enjoyed a selection of extraordinary world-class dishes presented across 20 courses, with the choice of either a wine or juice menu to accompany the fare.
After an exquisite meal, we headed across town to enjoy cocktails at edgy new bar Balderdash (pictured), and then on to European art deco-inspired Strøm Bar.
On our final day, breakfast was served with a round of Rapid Infusion Bloody Mary cocktails, before heading over to the distillery one last time for a memorial stone ceremony. Each guest was invited to write a small message on a stone and lay it at the Purity Legacy monument, before being gifted a personalised, gold-plated bottle of Purity Vodka from Kuuttanen.
Summing up the celebration, Kuuttanen said: “I’m so very proud and happy to be celebrating 100 gold medals. For me it’s the proof that vodka is no longer only about marketing but also about content.
“That all these fantastic bartenders from around the world have taken the time to come to Sweden to learn about our distillery and vodka is the finest recognition we can get.”
