HEAD TO HEAD WITH DAN AYKROYD
The actor, musician and businessman brings a taste of his award- winning vodka to Vancouver
A great big tumbler full of Crystal Head vodka. Straight. That’s what Beldar the Conehead would drink, Dan Aykroyd confides. And he should know.
After all, he says, “I love the Conehead. I would do the Conehead all day. Because I am the Conehead.”
The Conehead may be his favourite of all the roles the Canadian- born actor/ writer/ comedian/ musician has played in a 40- plus- year career that spans everything from Saturday Night Live to The Blues Brothers to Ghostbusters to Driving Miss Daisy.
But these days, he’s playing another role that’s almost as much fun: purveyor of fine spirits.
“It’s wonderful to be doing something people like,” he says.
Aykroyd was in Vancouver and Victoria this past weekend to promote Crystal Head vodka, the multiple- awardwinning spirit he’s created with a team that includes artist John Alexander and the staff at the government- run distillery in Newfoundland where the vodka is produced. Before a round of bottle signings and media appearances, though, he stopped in at the Vancouver Club to serve a round of cocktails.
“And here now is my second favourite sound in the world,” he says as a bartender starts shaking up a batch of China Head cocktails ( see recipe). “My favourite, of course, is a Harley- Davidson motorcycle.” He listens to the sound of ice in the shaker and smiles. “And this is where a brand is made.”
Aykroyd is just one of a number of celebrities who are getting into the world of alcoholic- beverage production. George Clooney, Sammy Hagar and Justin Timberlake all have tequila brands; Marilyn Manson has his Mansinthe absinthe; rapper Ludacris his Conjure cognac; Willie Nelson his Old Whiskey River bourbon. Countless others, including Drew Barrymore, Wayne Gretzky and Dave Matthews, have part or whole ownership in wineries.
But Aykroyd hasn’t just put his name behind Crystal Head. He’s put a lot of passion and personal belief into it, too.
“I started in the business because I was tired of working with inferior products to make my Dockside Margaritas,” he says. Then he discovered Patron tequila, and decided to start distributing it in Canada.
A few years later, when he couldn’t find a vodka he liked for his beloved Long Island Railroad martini — vodka, a splash of vermouth, a splash of olive brine, one pearl onion, three olives — it seemed logical to make his own.
The result was Crystal Head, a sweet and smooth, yet crisp and dry vodka with distinct vanilla notes and just a hint of heat on the finish.
But Crystal Head’s flavour and texture don’t come from additives such as sugar, citrus oil or glycerol, which are standard in many commercial vodkas. Rather, it is made from nothing but sweet Canadian peaches- and- cream corn and pristine glacial water from Newfoundland, making it a perfect “blank canvas” for bartenders.
In addition, the vodka is filtered seven times and in its final stage passes three times through Herkimer diamonds, semi- precious quartz crystals that share the same raw material as the crystal heads for which the vodka is named.
And that’s another thing that makes this such a personal project: Aykroyd has linked the spirit to his belief in spiritualism and the legend of the 13 mysterious crystal heads that have been found around the planet ( see sidebar).
Clearly, there is some magic at work here, for the vodka has scooped up a number of prestigious awards since it was launched in 2008, most recently the Gold Medal for Excellent Taste at last year’s Prod Expo in Moscow.
Aykroyd is considering creating another spirit one day, but one thing he won’t try is flavoured vodka. “We make vodka- flavoured vodka,” he says. “We’re winning awards with it, so why would we change our winning formula?”
Meanwhile, he’s busy helping the House of Blues chain — which he co- founded — celebrate its 20th anniversary. And he’s thrilled about his role in the upcoming James Brown biopic, Get On Up, starring Chadwick Boseman and directed by Tate Taylor ( The Help).
“If I were the director or producer I couldn’t say this, but I’m not, so I’ll say it: It’s going to win best picture next year,” Aykroyd says.
We’ll drink to that. A great big tumbler of Crystal Head vodka, anyone?