CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa company hopes its corn-based vodka will succeed because of a new process that eliminates impurities in the finished liquor.
The Mason City Globe Gazette reports IngeniOz vodka started selling for about $24 a bottle in Iowa stores a month ago.
The OZ Spirits company was started in 2012 by Johannes Van Leeuwen after he developed the process for creating vodka with zero impurities at Iowa State University. The company said its new IngeniOz vodka doesn't have any impurities.
A pure vodka is supposed to be better quality and less likely to cause a hangover. By comparison, tests conducted on national vodka brands at Iowa State showed Smirnoff has eight impurities, Absolute has 16 and Grey Goose has 14.
One of the Iowa company's co-founders, Bill Astor, said the response has been great so far, and he hopes to expand sales beyond Iowa in the future. Minnesota and Illinois are likely to be the first expansion targets.
"We feel we've got something," said Astor, who has worked in alcoholic beverage sales for nearly three decades.
The vodka is packaged in a clear glass bottle with a blue label.
IngeniOz vodka is produced in Cuming, Iowa, with corn grown in the state. OZ Spirits contracted with the Iowa Distilling Co. to produce the vodka.