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A venerable vodka steps up to the bar
06/26/0101 - Abby Weingarten
A venerable vodka steps up to the bar
BY ABBY WEINGARTEN CORRESPONDENT
Ben Graham believes it is just a matter of time before Szambelan, a superpremium Polish vodka, becomes a part of the vernacular.
The vodka's headquarters are in Sarasota, and Ken Brand, founder of Brand Name Imports LLC, has exclusive rights to import and distribute it in the U.S. and Canada.
Since September, Brand and his eight-person sales team, headed by Graham, have been vigorously touting the vodka throughout Florida. Made from a 300-year-old recipe, Szambelan was previously available only to customers in Poland.
The vodka has headquarters in Sarasota, and Brand has exclusive rights to import and distribute it in the U.S. and Canada.
"The response here has been phenomenal so far," according to Graham.
"I used to be a Ketel One drinker, and the first time I tried Szambelan, my mouth hit the floor. It lifted my spirits, and that was the conversion."
The triple-distilled rye grain vodka dates back to the 17th century, in the castle of Poland's King Stanislaw August Poniatowski. His chamberlain, Ireneusz Izdebski IV, concocted the recipe for the king's royal Thursday's Dinner.
A decade ago, when Izdebski's descendant Agnieszka Izdebska moved from Rybnik, Poland, to Sarasota. She later met Brand at Bonefish Grill, and "love at first sight" whisked them to the altar last October.
Inspired by his wife's tales of home and her delectable vodka, Brand rented a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in Venice and acquired an office in Sarasota and 900 cases full of sleek, frosted glass bottles.
"I've been in sales for as long as I can remember, from mortgages to cars to cell phones, never liquor.
"But as soon as I tried the vodka and heard the story behind it, I knew it would be successful," said Brand, who at 33 is also the proprietor of Platinum Coast Mortgage Services.
"People are absolutely going nuts over it already. My closing ratio with clients is about 90 percent."
Brand's wife, who owns National Title & Escrow, also takes care of the paperwork for Brand Name Imports LLC. He oversees sales representatives in Miami, Clearwater, Tampa and Sarasota.
Graham, by day, is a 28-year-old advertising executive for SRQ Magazine. Nightly he pitches the vodka to area establishments with liquor licenses.
On Sept. 15, he helped unveil the vodka to 700 people at the 10th Annual SRQ Hotlist Party at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.
He has made deals with restaurants and arts organizations to feature the vodka at tastings.
Szambelan's water is pumped from Poland's artesian wells and cleaned six times to remove any extraneous properties, Brand said.
The vodka "has a very smooth, clean finish. It definitely has that warming sensation and doesn't have a nasty, bitter aftertaste," Graham said.
"You don't have a hangover in the morning. Your head is not in a vice, and you never have that gasoline taste in your mouth."
Selva Grill, Evie's Tavern, Boar's Head Lounge, Monk's Steamer Bar, Bonefish Grill and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits will carry Szambelan vodka.
Bonefish and ABC are pursuing a statewide campaign to stock the vodka in all of their franchises, according to Graham.
He also is pursuing a sponsorship deal with Giuseppe Rise, owner of the Ferrari Racing Team, for the March race season in Sebring.
Retailers may sell the vodka for $26 to $42 a liter, and bar owners may charge anywhere from $6 a swig to $12 a martini.
Looking to market Szambelan nationwide within two years, Brand intends to enter the vodka in the annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition in March, in which more than 50 spirits will compete.
Throughout the next three months, Graham will be lining up account executives in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston and New York City.
"I'm very passionate about it," he said, "and I've always been of the mind-set that hard work does pay off. If it means working two jobs right now and not having much sleep, so be it."
Just as Absolut became a billboard bigwig almost instantly, Szam "may soon be the new phrase on everyone's lips," he said.
The vodka's headquarters are in Sarasota, and Ken Brand, founder of Brand Name Imports LLC, has exclusive rights to import and distribute it in the U.S. and Canada.
Since September, Brand and his eight-person sales team, headed by Graham, have been vigorously touting the vodka throughout Florida. Made from a 300-year-old recipe, Szambelan was previously available only to customers in Poland.
The vodka has headquarters in Sarasota, and Brand has exclusive rights to import and distribute it in the U.S. and Canada.
"The response here has been phenomenal so far," according to Graham.
"I used to be a Ketel One drinker, and the first time I tried Szambelan, my mouth hit the floor. It lifted my spirits, and that was the conversion."
The triple-distilled rye grain vodka dates back to the 17th century, in the castle of Poland's King Stanislaw August Poniatowski. His chamberlain, Ireneusz Izdebski IV, concocted the recipe for the king's royal Thursday's Dinner.
A decade ago, when Izdebski's descendant Agnieszka Izdebska moved from Rybnik, Poland, to Sarasota. She later met Brand at Bonefish Grill, and "love at first sight" whisked them to the altar last October.
Inspired by his wife's tales of home and her delectable vodka, Brand rented a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in Venice and acquired an office in Sarasota and 900 cases full of sleek, frosted glass bottles.
"I've been in sales for as long as I can remember, from mortgages to cars to cell phones, never liquor.
"But as soon as I tried the vodka and heard the story behind it, I knew it would be successful," said Brand, who at 33 is also the proprietor of Platinum Coast Mortgage Services.
"People are absolutely going nuts over it already. My closing ratio with clients is about 90 percent."
Brand's wife, who owns National Title & Escrow, also takes care of the paperwork for Brand Name Imports LLC. He oversees sales representatives in Miami, Clearwater, Tampa and Sarasota.
Graham, by day, is a 28-year-old advertising executive for SRQ Magazine. Nightly he pitches the vodka to area establishments with liquor licenses.
On Sept. 15, he helped unveil the vodka to 700 people at the 10th Annual SRQ Hotlist Party at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.
He has made deals with restaurants and arts organizations to feature the vodka at tastings.
Szambelan's water is pumped from Poland's artesian wells and cleaned six times to remove any extraneous properties, Brand said.
The vodka "has a very smooth, clean finish. It definitely has that warming sensation and doesn't have a nasty, bitter aftertaste," Graham said.
"You don't have a hangover in the morning. Your head is not in a vice, and you never have that gasoline taste in your mouth."
Selva Grill, Evie's Tavern, Boar's Head Lounge, Monk's Steamer Bar, Bonefish Grill and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits will carry Szambelan vodka.
Bonefish and ABC are pursuing a statewide campaign to stock the vodka in all of their franchises, according to Graham.
He also is pursuing a sponsorship deal with Giuseppe Rise, owner of the Ferrari Racing Team, for the March race season in Sebring.
Retailers may sell the vodka for $26 to $42 a liter, and bar owners may charge anywhere from $6 a swig to $12 a martini.
Looking to market Szambelan nationwide within two years, Brand intends to enter the vodka in the annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition in March, in which more than 50 spirits will compete.
Throughout the next three months, Graham will be lining up account executives in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston and New York City.
"I'm very passionate about it," he said, "and I've always been of the mind-set that hard work does pay off. If it means working two jobs right now and not having much sleep, so be it."
Just as Absolut became a billboard bigwig almost instantly, Szam "may soon be the new phrase on everyone's lips," he said.
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