Tito’s Handmade Vodka has officially added “Gluten-Free” to their labels based on the recent TBB ruling on the gluten-free guidelines for alcoholic beverages! While most vodkas are made with a wheat or rye, Tito’s Handmade Vodka is made of 100% corn mash! Per the new guidelines, only spirits made from ingredients that DO NOT contain wheat are able to label products as being gluten-free. In the past, a common misconception was that all vodka is gluten-free because the gluten protein was removed during the distillation process. The TTB maintains there is not enough testing/ consistency in the industry to ensure consumer safety, making only a select few alcohol brands gluten-free, including Tito’s!
“As a corn-based spirit, we are excited to be a part of the gluten-free movement! We’re just doing what we’ve always been doing. It’s great that the TTB is setting such high standards, and we’re glad our handmade vodka naturally meets them,” said Tito Beveridge, Founder and Master Distiller of Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
Tito’s Handmade Vodka is one of the fastest-growing craft spirits on the market, and the vodka is one of the purest available. It is heralded by the country’s top bartenders and mixologists as one of the smoothest expressions of the spirit, and Wine Enthusiast awarded it a score of 95 Points — higher than Ketel One, Absolut, Belvedere, and Grey Goose.
ABOUT TITO’S HANDMADE VODKA
Tito’s Handmade Vodka is the personal recipe of founder and master distiller, Bert “Tito” Beveridge. It is a slow, six-times distilled recipe offered at the fairest price possible.
When Tito embarked on opening a microdistillery he scoured the library for books on the process of distilling, and perfected the method himself. He pored over photos from the prohibition era to gather the design knowledge for his equipment. He fought to create the permit process in the state of Texas to establish his legal right to operate a distillery, and became the state’s first. Tito worked day and night in a one-room distillery shack that he hand-built, cooking vodka and catching sleep whenever possible.
Tito perfected his 100% corn mash recipe by employing the same pot still methods applied to fine single malt scotches and highest-end French cognacs. The clear, odorless and unmatched smoothness of Tito’s Handmade Vodka is the cleanest expression of the spirit, and one of very few suitable to be enjoyed neat. It was Tito’s intention to create a smooth and pure vodka that women, with their refined palate, would love to sip.
The brand’s modest label is a testament to the pride and confidence Tito has in his product. The bottle is simple, and Tito intends to keep it that way – in part to stay true to the brand, and in part not to pass any unnecessary costs on to the people he made his vodka for. Tito has spared the public the sexy spokesmodels and flashy ad campaigns; leaving them to discover and savor the difference for themselves, without any hype.
Renowned Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim, formerly head of the cocktail program at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and current head judge of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, was one of the brand’s earliest fans. In 2001, Tito submitted a few bottles of his vodka to the World Spirits Competition. Without being present, Tito’s earned the Unanimous Double Gold Medal, winning over 71 other vodkas, including established and more expensive brands.
Tito’s Handmade Vodka has been awarded 95 points by Wine Enthusiast and was recognized with the “UCC Chairman’s Trophy” at the 2010 Ultimate Cocktail Challenge by a panel of judges which included mixology luminaries Dale DeGroff, David Wondrich, Jacques Bezuidenhout, Julie Reiner, Steve Olson, Audrey Saunders, Tad Carducci, Doug Frost, Andy Seymour, Don Lee, Jim Meehan and Sean Ludford.
Tito has turned his handmade vodka into one of the fastest growing spirit brands in the country through the power of word of mouth and an army of loyal followers. Today the brand is sold in all 50 states.
Tito’s Vodka Website: www.titosvodka.com and find them on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Pinterest.
ABOUT BERT “TITO” BEVERIDGE BIO
Tito’s Handmade Vodka founder and master distiller Bert “Tito” Beveridge is a true pioneer in the world of microdistilling – in fact, it’s a world he helped create.
A native Texan and brilliant entrepreneur, Tito was born in San Antonio and attended The University of Texas in Austin, where he earned degrees in Geology and Geophysics, with a minor in Math. He began his professional life as a Geophysicist, working around the globe at jobs in and out of the field, including dynamite-blasting oil reserves, sub-surface mapping, processing seismic data, analyzing ground water, and even at one time, as a mortgage banker. The varied life and career experiences gave Tito a unique perspective on time, forecasting, planning, finance, and the ability to understand people from all walks of life.
In the early 1990s, Tito enjoyed infusing flavored vodka in his spare time, creating much-loved (and much-requested) batches for friends. Tito watched as microbreweries and boutique wineries began cropping up throughout the country, and astutely predicted that the next step would be to incorporate the same handcrafted principles to the spirits industry.
In a profound self-reflection exercise, Tito sat down to reassess his career and life path by drawing a line down the middle of a single sheet of paper. He defined those things he was most skilled at on one side, and added those things he felt most passionate about to the other. He immediately recognized that he was drawn to meeting new people, making and enjoying fine spirits, and had a genuine knack for selling. In a life-changing moment, Tito’s path became clear and he decided to create his own vodka company. These basic tenets – following what you love and staying true to your talents — remain the backbone of Tito’s passionate pursuit in the highly competitive spirits industry.
In 1997, Tito fought to create the permit process in Texas to establish his legal right to open the state’s first distillery. Without investors, any formal training, and on a tiny budget, Tito relied on credit cards — in the end, running up a total of 19. With the unwavering dedication of a small, handpicked staff and with friends who pitched in to help build Tito’s first distillery shack, he turned his dream into a reality. “I listened closely to the advice of those who advised me to start small, saying, ‘Try to own your hometown, then, if you do that, try to own your home state, then if you do that, try to own your home country,’” recalls Tito.
Early on, Tito worked day and night in the one-room shack, cooking vodka and catching sleep sporadically. He spent his days hand-bottling vodka, screwing caps on bottles, and putting Elmer’s glue on paper labels. He would canvass Austin, meeting with local liquor stores and distributors, and taking his vodka around to parties, introducing his brand and building up a cadre of loyal followers. Tito would head home to exhausted and exhilarated; Then, he would wake up, and do it all over again.
It took the company more than eight years to turn a profit. Today, Tito’s Handmade Vodka is one of the fastest-selling and fastest-growing microsidtilleries on the market and remains one of the purest spirits available.
When not walking the distillery floor and testing each batch, Tito enjoys fishing, listening to, writing and playing music, and traveling throughout Texas. However, he still counts his biggest hobby as selling vodka. Tito lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and three children.
