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2015 and Food, Businesses, Businessmen, Cute and Clever, Drinks, Vodka

Marc Spark’s Bonn Óir Vodka Settles In On American Shores

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The latest exciting name in vodka arrived in America from a European starting point. Bonn Óir (pronounced “bän ôr”) Gold Medal Vodka comes to the United States not from Russia or France. This vodka is a product of Ireland and derived from an Irish family recipe passed down through three generations, according to The Spirits Business.

This handcrafted Irish-American vodka has been touted by Bonn Óir creator and recipe family member Dan O’Shevlin as setting a “new standard” for vodka connoisseurs. Their recipe uses a top-grain of soft white wheat to produce its flavor. Other O’Shevlin vodka offerings include a lower calorie Bonn Óir Light, and a cinnamon-infused version labeled Irish Fire.

Bonn Óir vodka enjoyed critical acclaim in 2015. The brand was among the top 100 spirits recognized in the 2015 International Craft Spirit Competition in Los Angeles.

Backing for the O’Shevlin Importing Company happened thanks to an investment from Dallas-based Timber Creek Capital. Serial entrepreneur Marc Sparks is the founder, owner, and CEO of the private equity firm. Marc’s book “They Can’t Eat You” discusses his rise from a C+ average high school graduate to success, and then to the bottom before rising again to the top.

“Through my years of experiences I understand challenges and devastating circumstances entrepreneurship can bring. My passion is to help entrepreneurs build their dream and companies to critical mass through my experience,” Sparks said on the Timber Creek Capital blog.

Drinks, Nuts

Pistachios Strut Their Stuff

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Pistachios aren’t just for ice cream anymore. Bartenders all around the country have discovered that the pale green goodness of the solid nut can be shaved into elegant curls for garnishing the rims of glassware or floated across a delicious concoction prepared with pistachio-infused liquor. Crush pistachios into granules for a crunchy rim decor on an exciting Emerald City Monk cocktail, says Keith Villaneuva of Atlanta. Sprinkle them across a mound of foam that tops a Cream of the Crop, comes a hint from the drink’s creator, Brian Means of San Francisco, who partners coconut pistachio puree with mezcal.

Pistachio enthusiasts like Mark Ahn (twitter.com) infuse the subtle flavor into liquors, and there are few limits on which liquor can be made better with extra flavor such as this. Bourbon, gin, sherry, cognac, vodka, whiskey, and rum are surprising examples of basic bartending nowadays when they gain the flavor of the versatile pistachio. Infusion may be time-intensive due to the technique of blending shelled pistachios with the desired liquor in a centrifuge, and bartender Jack Schramm places his Thundernut drink on the limited edition menu. When considering how pistachios can be infused and crushed or made into syrup, foams, and orgeat, it’s no wonder that the little green nuts deserve their day in the sun, even though that day consists of the pleasantly subdued light of a cocktail bar.