He’s the ultimate Blues Brother . . . and the ultimate guest bartender. Just ask the people at Champps Americana in Los Colinas, TX. That’s where we caught up with Dan Aykroyd on his promotions tour for his new vodka, Crystal Head.
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With his sunglasses on, he began his pitch.

“It started with the water of Newfoundland. . .,” he said, walking us through the ingredients and process. Somehow the vodka ends up triple filtered through diamonds. As a newer SNL crew says, really?

Apparently, really.

The vodka, just celebrating its 1-millionth bottle, was created by entertainer Aykroyd and American landscape artist and portraitist John Alexander. According to their press materials, Crystal Head Vodka is made from water from a deep aquifer in Newfoundland, Canada. It is free of any additives such as sugar, glycerin or citrus oil.

And, it is quadruple-distilled and triple-filtered through Herkimer diamond crystals.

Really.

“Crystal Head Vodka began as a 5,000 case project and sold 46,000 cases in our first year,” said Aykroyd. “Hitting this important milestone just six months later is a testament to the quality of our product and our ability to carve out a vibrant niche even in the crowded vodka category.”

Delivering his story in typical deadpan fashion, Aykroyd said, “People come to us and say, ‘What did you put in this vodka that makes it taste so good?’ The answer is what we did NOT put in it. We are back to a pure spirit, the way vodka is supposed to be.”

He added, “It’s at its 1-millionth bottle production mark because people enjoy the bottle—and what’s in the bottle.”

Kind of takes you back to another food creation of Aykroyd’s, for all you bass-o-matic fans. Here’s the full story on his true culinary start, as told in an interview with The Food Channel‘s Christen Nehmer.

Interested in more about the unique skull-shaped bottle, designed by John Alexander, long-time friend of Aykroyd? And, why did they get into the vodka business? For more behind the bottle, click here.

Click here for more exclusive photos of Dan’s night as celebrity bartender.

And, for more about Champps, check our iRaves section.