Food - Drink
How The Bartending Community Helped Create Ketel One Vodka
By HALDAN KIRSCH
Since its debut in 1983, Ketel One vodka, created by the Nolet family of distillers, has built an impressive reputation as one of the best vodka brands worldwide. Ketel One first advertised after 20 years on the market and primarily relied on word of mouth to help craft its place on bar shelves everywhere.
Current master distiller Bob Nolet said that bartenders were highly instrumental in developing Ketel One vodka. His father, Carolus Nolet, consulted bar staff in Holland and elsewhere for Ketel One's signature bottle and the vodka's tasting notes, as well as using his great, great grandfather's own tasting notes.
VinePair points out that the unique flavor could also be due to a hybrid distillation process that combines vodka making and that of making other spirits like rum, scotch, and gin. Per Ketel One, Nolet revisited many of the bartenders that spoke with him after he created the spirit, and the brand quickly grew.