Recipes

“Guests try it because it’s a Maryland product, but then they’re quickly turned on by it,” says Mr. Rain’s owner, Perez Klebahn.

“The reaction has been very positive. It’s a local-pride type thing, and it’s a vodka that has the quality you can drink on its own or mix in cocktails.”

For the manufacturers of the born-in-2011 spirit, it’s that kind of response that makes it all worthwhile.

“It definitely gives you a sense of accomplishment,” says Chris Cook, CEO of parent company Blackwater Distilling in Stevensville.

“If you’re really going to throw yourself into something—if you’re going to put in the time and sweat equity—you have to have a real bond with it. You have to put your heart and soul in it.”

He and his brother, Chief Operating Officer Jon Cook, contributed plenty of both while also branding the brew with their home state. They named the Queen Anne’s County distillery after nearby Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge; the “sloop” part of the vodka’s moniker is a tribute to the Free State’s maritime tradition.

And the pinup honors the kind of fuselage art loved by their WWII fighter pilot grandfather, Burton Cook. (“He was quite the character,” Chris says of the man whose C-47 crash-landed in France.)

Just months after Sloop Betty made her debut, she’s now proudly served in more than 250 locations throughout Maryland, Washington, DC, and Delaware. The secret to the company’s success isn’t a secret: The vodka that took seven years to perfect relies on organic ingredients and an 80/20-percent ratio of wheat to sugarcane.

“We were shocked by the difference in the distilling process when we began to use sugarcane,” says Chris, who notes that Blackwater is one of only a few distilleries using the sweet stuff.

“It altered our decision-making process because you can taste our ingredients more clearly. This blew everything else out of the water.”

The result also earned kudos from The Tasting Panel, a trade magazine that gave Sloop Betty a 94-point rating for its exceptional texture and taste. In vodka connoisseur-speak, Anthony Dias Blue wrote that Sloop Betty is “lush and rich with creamy texture and lovely grain notes.” He also praised it as “complex, elegant and dense with subtle vanilla and spice.”

Chris hopes the palate-pleaser will take a ride on several trends: a thriving $9-billion-a-year demand for vodka in the U.S. and an increasing appetite for eating—and drinking—healthfully.

“There’s a whole new level of interest in the ‘gourmet-ification’ of America,” Chris says. “People today also want to buy local products and leave behind as small a carbon footprint as they can.”

And everyone appreciates the yum factor, too.

“We put our own stamp on this with our ingredients and our blending and filtration processes,” Chris says. “Sloop Betty is good enough to be sipped and savored by itself.”

Sloop Betty is also an effervescent socialite, which is where mixologist Jon Blair comes in. His job is to provide her with just the right mix of friends, especially during the holidays. One of his personal favorites is the Yuletide Greeting, in which she goes for a swim with maple liqueur, pear liqueur, apple cider, and lemon juice.

The Cooks will be able to achieve their next goal—dropping their civil-servant day jobs and sailing the spirits market full time—if enough people fall for Sloop Betty’s charm.