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September 28, 2009

Dan Aykroyd fan? Lover of fine vodka? Be there at Walnut Creek’s BevMo Friday when the movie comedy star signs bottles of his new vodka

Dan Aykroyd, one of the original stars of Saturday Night Live and who enjoyed movie hits with The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters franchises, will be in Walnut Creek Friday afternoon. He’ll promoting his new Cone Head (Sorry, Crystal Head) vodka.

If you buy one of these bottles, in the shape of a skull, you can have Aykroyd sign it. A bottle retails for $49.95, which is out of my price range, but it is supposed to be among the purest vodka around, or so Aykroyd would say. “It is quadrupled distilled and filtered three times through charcoal followed by triple filtration over Herkimer crystals," according to its press materials.

If you’re a vodka connoisseur, this distilling and filtering process might mean something to you. (If I ever drink a martini, which is rare these days, I’m a gin girl myself, and very dry and straight up.)

Anyway, since his entertainment career has quieted down, Aykroyd has gone into the wine and spirits business. The Ottawa-born entertainer produces wine made near Niagara Falls, and they Dan Aykroyd Wines are the top-selling celebrity brand in Canada. Hmm, is this a big deal?

First, are Canadian wines any good? Sorry, to sound all California terroir snobby. Second, are there so many other celebrities pitching their wines in Canada? Of course, if Aykroyd is surpassing the Coppolla wine juggernaut, then that’s something of an accomplishment. Also, he has recently begun producing wine in Sonoma County.

Meanwhile, I’m having trouble with the 750-ml. skull-shaped bottle. Not something that would appeal to me; I like my liquor bottles to have that sleek, sophisticated look. A skull-shaped makes me think of something you'd find on a shelf in the bedroom of a Heavy Metal loving frat boy. Aykroyd explains that the Crystal Head brand—and therefore the bottle shape—is inspired the legend that thousands of years ago, thirteen crystal heads were scattered across the earth—artifacts, perhaps, of the lost civilization of Atlantis, or of the Mayans, or of beings of a “higher intelligence.”

Don't want to sound too snarky. I wish Aykroyd the best. I always loved him on Saturday Night Live. Aykroyd will be at BevMo in Walnut Creek 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, 2940 Main Street.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm...

Dan Brown describes a ceremony in "The Lost Symbol" where someone drinks out of a skull.

Could there be a connection?

Anonymous said...

I'm not too sure about Canadian wine in general, but I do love after dinner a glass of Inniskillin Ice Wine Vidal from the Niagara Falls region.

On the skull bottle I like your picture of the Heavy Metal Frat Boy bedroom. I have to say I had the exact same reaction to it.

Jojo Potato said...

Typo in the headline dear.

Martha Ross said...

Typo?
Yes, thanks JoJo.
I'm afraid these things happen when I have to do these things on the fly...
Then again, they happen when I'm not...
Oh well. It's fixed, and thanks for pointing out a very silly error.

Anonymous said...

Crystal head bottles??? That's the goofiest bit of marketing I've seen in a long time ... unless some stoner is supposed to turn the thing into a bong after the vodka's been consumed.

(but do vodka drinkers also smoke pot? Offhand, I don't see the two going together. Ah, the many unanswered questions in life...)