While most of My Table’s attention is directed towards Houston’s culinary accomplishments, we don’t forget to recognize occasionally those outside the city limits. That’s why we sat down this week with Clayton Christopher of Deep Eddy Vodka to talk about the Texas vodka business, the Bettys and the company’s newest product.
Sweet Leaf Tea founder Clayton Christopher partnered with Savvy Vodka founder Chad Auler in 2010 to market a sweet tea vodka made with real tea leaves. Distilled in Austin, the two have created a product reflective of their hometown. They are committed to using a sustainable distilling process that creates zero waste and uses ingredients grown in Texas. The vodkas are made from South Texas corn, and the water is from an aquifer in the Texas Hill Country. Even the organic clover honey is from the Austin area.
But it was their third product, using another iconic Texas product, that has suddenly made the vodka-drinking world prick up its ears. Their Deep Eddy Ruby Red, a grapefruit-infused vodka, is already surpassing Deep Eddy Sweet Tea in sales, launching in a new state practically every week.
Sticking with their commitment to source locally, Ruby Red is infused with Texas Ruby Red grapefruit juice, which gives the vodka a delicate rosy color. As Christopher likes to say, “Most flavored vodka is clear. Mother nature doesn’t make clear fruit.” In addition to the fruit juice, they add a smidge of sugar to the vodka for a subtle sweetness alongside the tartness of the grapefruit. It may not be a year round vodka, but it makes for a perfect summer cocktail if you enjoy a tart drink. A splash of soda and a squeeze of lime are all this vodka needs.
The Deep Eddy guys are already planning their next vodka flavor. Christopher wouldn’t let us in on the secret, but he did give us some hints. They are working with two flavors, one of which is a citrus that they may plan to combine with a second flavor. Our hopeful prediction: lime or lemon lavender vodka.
In the meantime, try a glass of Prosecco and Deep Eddy Ruby Red for an elegant summer cocktail.
Where did your passion for sweet tea – inspiration for Deep Eddy Sweet Tea – come from? Originally I had a company named Sweet Leaf Tea, and it was my grandmother’s recipe. The label is supposed to be an artistic rendition of her. Since we started making Sweet Leaf, we always had vodka around the office and would have happy hours every Friday. That’s where it got started. I also started seeing these other sweet tea vodkas popping up on the market. As soon as I tasted one, I thought, we can make something so much better than this.
Where does the name “Deep Eddy” come from? It is a historic spring-fed swimming pool in Austin. We wanted something that spoke to the DNA of Austin. Chad [Auler] literally took swimming lessons there as a kid, and I used to swim there and still do. We wanted something that was authentic and memorable enough that if we expanded it outside of Texas people would remember it.
Deep Eddy seems to be very selective in its flavors. Why did you choose grapefruit as the third flavor? Yeah, you’re not going to see cotton candy- or jellybean-flavored Deep Eddy vodka. The flavors are what Chad and I want to drink. It has to be something that we are really going to enjoy and, ideally, fruit that we can find in Texas. Sourcing locally is important to us.
Who is Betty, the girl on your logo? We call her Betty, which is also my dog’s name. The original Deep Eddy was an amusement park where family and friends would gather and have a good time. Betty was from one of the posters in the 1930s that was advertising the amusement park. I saw this image, and I thought we have to put her on the middle of our logo. A lot of the branding is around that vintage feel of Betty, sexy but classy.
What is one of your best Deep Eddy experiences? I can’t remember the first time it happened, but it is when I am either at a bar or any other public place, and someone sees the bottle and is like, “Oh, my God, I love that stuff.” That justifies everything that we are doing.
* And at the end of our interview, coincidentally, a random coffeehouse customer tapped Christopher’s shoulder, pointed to the bottle of Deep Eddy Ruby Red that was sitting on the table, and said, “Great product.”