For nearly two years Ballardite John Lundin has been perfecting his organic vodka. This week Lundin is in Silverton, Colorado producing the first small batches of Blue Water Vodka at a distillery which is 9,300’ above sea level.
Lundin says there are three reasons why he chose to distill vodka. “Being Swedish gave me a strong cultural connection to Vodka through its significance in celebrations and the country’s long history of distilling,” he says, “Being a huge enthusiast of the cocktail culture further piqued my interest in the distilling process, which in turn led to an extensive study of the science involved and the business aspects of the industry. And of course, I simply love Vodka.”
“To create Bluewater, I wanted to combine the highest quality ingredients, responsible production, organic content and strong natural imagery,” Lundin says. Lundin and his wife live aboard a sailboat at Shilshole. “Bluewater closely communicates my own ideals of ecological responsibility, business independence, and love for the natural world,” he tells us. The vodka is made from 100% organic wheat and the water comes from high-alpine springs fed by 12,000-foot peaks in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.
Bluewater Vodka will be available later this month by special order through the Washington State Liquor Control Board and possibly at local watering holes. “Without even tasting, the product has received a great show of support from places including the Stumbling Goat Bistro, Liberty Bar, Bastille, Anthony’s, Bal-Mar, the Matador, and of course the Swedish Cultural Center!” Lundin exclaims. “With inventory arriving Mid-June, I will be hugely active pouring samples and promoting the spirit locally.”
![](https://www.myballard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-My-Ballard-Tile-Ad-Troop-100.png")
OK – sounds good but this cracks me up:
“To create Bluewater, I wanted to combine the highest quality ingredients, responsible production, organic content and strong natural imagery,” Lundin says. Lundin and his wife live aboard a sailboat at Shilshole. “Bluewater closely communicates my own ideals of ecological responsibility, business independence, and love for the natural world,” he tells us. The vodka is made from 100% organic wheat and the water comes from high-alpine springs fed by 12,000-foot peaks in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.
UH – what does it cost in terms of money and carbon footprint to bring water from Colorado? Or is the product made there and shipped here?
sheese…I guess the water is not so very good here in the NW.
silly
Ha — you may be on to something. The website says that the “organic wheat” they use comes from Northern Italy.
Might as well use San Pellegrino bottles of water and wheat grown in test labs on the International Space Station. Carbon footprint: BP-sized.
so in unorganic vodka bad for you? geesh–marketing these days is quite a niche.
all vodka tastes the same. the only time it varies is when mineral waters are used to alter the mouthfeel. cool that it’s from ballard, shame it’s just vodka. /shrug
yeah- this piece just rubs me the wrong way. now, if he distilled it on his boat in shilshole, used local organic wheat from the farmers market and water from mt rainier, THAT might be cool. but no- not even close.
the bottom line is simply that “he” is “from ballard”. the vodka is from colorado- “This week Lundin is in Silverton, Colorado producing the first small batches”. shrug is right.
He is from Ballard, he isn’t distilling in Ballard. I am disappointed he isn’t pursuing the distilling industry in his own state and not using local ingredients such as Dry Fly has done. Congrats on moving forward with making spirits though.
Again we see that when better BS is squeezed out the bozos of Ballard are right there at the front of the parade.
“Lundin says”
“He tells us”
“Lundin exclaims.”
Yeah, right. Admit it, you’re just cutting and pasting in schtick from press releases or canned emails.
According to Ballard elite, if one is not born in seattle, one is not FROM seattle. So it is distilled in colorado using wheat from italy by a guy that may or may not be from Ballard. He parks his boat here.
Look out, here come the Green Police, looking under your bed, rummaging in your trash, peeking into your vodka ingredients, making sure your ingredients meet their code.
Maybe you folks need a drink, it must be tough be so self-righteous all the time.
“the Washington State Liquor Control Board”
For everyone’s sake, I hope that will be gone soon.
Why do you hope the WSLCB goes away soon? You must work for or been brainwashed by Costco. Very few will benefit from this initiative. In fact, I hear the money the state made that goes to colleges, and other agencies will line the pockets of Costco and the like. The end user will not save a dime!
“The end user will not save a dime!”
Have you seen their selections? It’s god awful and feels like a Cuban, state-run grocery store but with fewer choices. Why shouldn’t I be able to buy a decent bottle of gin or cognac at Costco instead of dragging my a** over to buy from the government?
And god forbid they carry drinks like pineau, to enjoy with some oysters, because the frigging state can’t figure out if it’s a liquor or not.
It’s ridiculous and a waste of taxpayers money. Maybe you need your a** wiped by the state, but some of us are grownups.
My guess is that they would have manufactured this stuff closer to home if WA were an easier state to do business in. Alcohol is a pretty tightly controlled product around these parts, so just figuring out a way to get a vodka to market is a probably a big accomplishment in itself. Thumbs up I say.
Kudos to these guys. Can’t wait to taste the vodka. Not sure where it was said that it had to be produced in Ballard.
Good luck to you, Lundin– following a dream, finding the best ingredients, and bringing a craft spirit to this area. I’ll drink to that! Cheers!
The WSLCB is too much of a money maker for Olympia to can it. You can order whatever you wish and they’ll get it for you.
Besides, I HATE Costco.
No wonder he lives on a boat, he’s spending his money flying all over the place to make vodka.
Now how about a Goose and Cranberry Juice with a slice of lime.
“You can order whatever you wish and they’ll get it for you.”
Oh goody, I can sit around and wait for my favorite drinks. Do I need permission from my mama too?
“Besides, I HATE Costco.”
They’d do a better job delivering liquor at better prices.
Everyone can check the prices for themselves… there are also plenty of online liquor stores to compare their prices to, however, their selection kind of suck sometimes.
liq.wa.gov/services/brandsearch.asp
After all this griping, I need a drink.
Vodka is passe.
There are very few decent vodkas on the market, but if he wanted to set himself apart he should have distilled it in Washington.
I buy/drink a lot of high end liquor and this won’t be one of them.
Bark More chimed: “Have you seen their selections?”
Ha! Just yesterday, in Lower Queen Anne (not a particularly big store), I picked up a fine Japanese whisky, a bottle of Dry Fly, and an interesting shochu.
In the private-liquor-sales states I’ve lived in (urbane ones, not backwoods ones), that same store would have been packed wall-to-wall with Jack Daniel’s, horrendous Skyy Vodka, and “what’s shochu?”
Because the same Washington bureaucracy from which bars and restaurants order also supplies the stores, you are much more likely to see a variety of types and brands of alcohol filtering down to the neighborhood outlets. In private-store states, it’s all about the recognizable brands that do volume business, and little else. I wouldn’t be surprised if InBev, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, etc. buys and pays for the shelf-space monopoly.
Also, I can’t speak highly enough of this: liq.wa.gov/services/brandsearch.asp
If you’re looking for something specific, it makes finding it so easy! How many phone calls would you have to make to do the same thing in another state?
It does not appear that they have your pineau. But somehow, I doubt Costco was planning to carry that either.