ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — Actor Dan Aykroyd made an exclusive appearance at Byerly's Wines & Spirits shop here last month to sign bottles of his new Crystal Head premium vodka.
Aykroyd's in-store appearance comes at a time when famous names are boosting spirits sales at supermarkets, according to the Nielsen Co.
There's tequila from Justin Timberlake, vodka from Donald Trump and whiskey from Willie Nelson.
Celebrity spirits sales grew 19% last year in supermarkets compared to 2007, and represent 0.3% ($7.5 million) of the total spirits category, according to Nielsen. In liquor stores, celebrity spirits are growing at an even faster rate, showing a nearly 21% increase since last year.
Along with Aykroyd's in-store appearance at the St. Louis Park store, Crystal Head vodka was available for purchase exclusively at all seven Lunds and Byerly's Wines & Spirits Shops from March 18 through 23.
Aykroyd was an original cast member on NBC's “Saturday Night Live” and starred in such movies as “The Blues Brothers” and “Ghostbusters.”
The idea for Crystal Head Vodka reportedly came from Aykroyd's fascination with ghosts, spirits and extraterrestrial life.
This vodka is free of any additives such as sugar, glycerin and citrus oil. It is made with water from a deep aquifer in Newfoundland, and quadruple distilled and triple filtered through polished crystals known as Herkimer diamonds. The vodka is then placed in a bottle sculpted into a glass rendering of a human skull. The bottle is produced by Bruni Glass in Milan, Italy.
