The 20mpg Martini

The Washington Post has an interesting article about an ethanol plant in Western Minnesota that has an interesting little sideline going. Not only do the churn out about 45 million gallons of raw ethanol each year. They also distill a premium American vodka, Shakers. And it has turned out to be very profitable and popular.

BENSON, Minn. — As distilleries for premium vodka go, the behemoth in Benson is surely one of the most unlikely.

Sprouting towers and tanks, the cavernous compound rises from the plains of western Minnesota. Industrial trucks come and go as heat from giant boilers puffs into the winter sky. The largest letters on the sign say not Grey Goose or Stolichnaya, but Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company.

The machinery here hums around the clock to churn out 45 million gallons of ethanol a year, part of the heartland's replacement-fuel boom. But the Chippewa Valley folks do ethanol with a twist, or perhaps an olive: On the side, they produce premium vodka.

The name is Shakers, and it comes from Minnesota wheat and rye, grown nearby. Packaged in an art deco bottle and marketed as an American original, the brand routinely collects accolades from aficionados. A company executive reports sales in the past 12 months of 15,000 cases at $33 a bottle.

The folks who approached the ethanol plant and convinced them to do this are the same people who were the originators of Pete's Wicked Ale. After they sold their stake in that operation, they needed a new challenge. They chose vodka. Judging by the sales figures so far, they chose wisely. Here's the Infinite Spirits website (that's what they call the company) where you can read more information if you're so inclined.