Dan Aykroyd comes to Portland

I ignore most of the press releases I get about vodka. However, I did receive one that may be of interest to local readers: Today from 3-5 Dan Aykroyd will be at Stateline Liquor, 1109 North Jantzen Drive Portland, OR, signing bottles of his Crystal Head vodka.

This product is pretty much the epitome of vodka marketing. It’s not about the liquid, it’s about the fancy bottle and the celebrity pitchman. I should hate it, but when the bottle is that awesome and the celebrity owner is Dan Aykroyd, I can’t deny that I’ve been tempted to buy a bottle. Drink Spirits has an interesting interview with Aykroyd about the brand, in which he notes that one of the biggest challenges is getting people to open the bottle after they buy it.

I received a small sample of the vodka — not in a skull shaped minibottle, alas — and it’s about what I expected. Perfectly fine vodka, but not something I would ever spend $50 a bottle for in any other shaped bottle. (Well, maybe in a Batmobile shaped bottle, but luckily that doesn’t exist yet.) If the idea of skull-shaped vodka bottle signed by Dan Aykroyd appeals to you, today’s your chance to get one.

Of course, Aykroyd’s greatest role as pitchman was Bag O’ Glass inventor Irwin Mainway.