Birmingham Natives Create Vodka that Speaks to Adventurous Spirit

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One of the newest vodkas available through Great Lakes & Spirits is distilled in Colorado, but it has Michigan roots.

Twin brothers Michael and Adam Kazanowski, 25, who grew up in Birmingham, are the principals of Gypsy Vodka, whose spirits are already on shelves at Kokos Market, Hills Fine Wine & Spirits and other locations in the Birmingham area, Hometownlife.com reports.

The brothers, both graduates of Brother Rice HIgh School and Michigan State University, have teamed with another 2012 Brother Rice graduate, Griffin Pitcher, in the company. Pitcher is in his senior year at Michigan State University.

The twins have lived frugally over the past two years, camping out in tents and a van as they’ve traveled and worked in northern Michigan, Colorado, California and Florida, saving as much money as they could while exploring career options.

“We didn’t really know what we wanted to do, but we knew working a nine-to-five job wasn’t for us,” Michael Kazanowski told the newspaper.

They initially considered a wine company, but research showed it to be “a tough market to crack,” he said.

After a conversation with a spirits distiller they met on a ski slope in Colorado, the brothers and Pitcher began making plans for Gypsy Vodka, which Michael Kazanowski said reflects the partners’ adventurous spirits. The company’s website says the vodka is “crafted for the young, wild and free.”

The 80-proof, gluten-free vodka is distilled from American corn and uses water purified through reverse osmosis. The work of Detroit artist Jen Frasco is featured on the 750-ml bottles made by a northern Michigan glassblower.

Their vodka will be served Sept. 19 at the “Gigs for Digs” event at The Fillmore to benefit the charity Humble Design, established in 2009 by two Birmingham women, Ana Smith and Treger Strasberg, to help families coming out of homelessness and abuse shelters rebuild their lives in dignified housing, according to the website.
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Photo via Gypsy Vodka Facebook page