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Our/New York Opens NYC’s First Distillery Since Prohibition

05/22/2018
Our/New York, a small batch, high-quality vodka, reported it will open the first legal distillery in New York City since Prohibition.

The distillery is a subsidiary of Our/Vodka, a global family of local vodkas made in micro-distilleries in cities around the world, which was started in 2010 by a group of Swedish entrepreneurs and later funded by Pernod Ricard.

According to company officials, “Our/Vodka invests in and builds micro-distilleries in select cities while local partners run the business of producing and selling the vodka. The local entrepreneurs become a part of the Our/Vodka family, investing their own time and effort in return for gaining access to Our/Vodka's expertise, long-term capital investment and share of profits. Our/New York will be operated by local skate wear entrepreneur and artist Dave Ortiz, founder of DQM (Dave's Quality Meat).”

Located at 151 West 26th Street in the heart of Manhattan between Sixth and Seventh avenues, the Our/New York micro-distillery will feature a public tasting room, bar, retail shop, gallery and event space.

The vodka is partly distilled, blended in small batches, and hand-bottled onsite at the micro-distillery following the same global recipe, but with ingredients sourced as locally as possible without compromising on quality to give each city its own unique flavor profile. Company officias said. “Our/New York is a corn-based super-premium vodka that is blended using New York City tap water for a vodka that is smooth, fresh and pure with a slight grain and fruity note.”

Our/Vodka is the brainchild of Founder & CEO Åsa Caap and was developed in secret with her co-founders for two years before receiving funding from Pernod Ricard. Åsa Says,"Our/New York is an important and exciting chapter in the Our/Vodka story and Dave, a born and raised New Yorker, is the perfect partner to write that chapter."

Growing up in East New York in the 70s and 80s, Dave Ortiz was swept up in the graffiti and skate culture zeitgeist before developing parallel careers in the skate wear industry while simultaneously pursuing fine art. He says of the venture: "When Our/Vodka approached me about Our/New York, it sounded too good to be true at first, but Our/Vodkaisn't based on superficial brand ideas; it's based on real people combined with real expertise and I was immediately attracted by the opportunity to grow a brand that New Yorkers can really identify with."

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