It didn’t really terrify. But it does come with a good ghost story. We asked intern Taylor Walker to find out more at the launch party of Frozen Ghost Vodka at Ghostbar. Her report below.
As hordes of jersey-clad Dallasites headed into the American Airlines Center to watch the Stars’ (eventual) 4-1 victory over the Red Wings, I, along with a dozen or so of the city’s restaurant workforce, made my way up to Ghostbar to celebrate an exclusive launch party for Frozen Ghost Vodka. Once my crowded elevator ride ascended to the 33rd floor of the posh W Dallas-Victory, I found myself facing an empty, albeit, swanky club, the blaring beat of Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen,” and an ice sculpture that both mimicked and held a bottle of the signature vodka. Following the crowd’s lead, I made my way over to the bar, passing several monitors that displayed the drink’s eerie, eye-catching logo (a ghost pressing up against the opaque/icy tint as if he’s trapped within the bottle), which seems to channel the Let The Right One In advertisements.
Keeping up with the theme, the suggested cocktails all possessed a supernatural vibe. Whether it was the Chillopolitan (a martini made with Frozen Ghost, cranberry juice, triple sec, and lime juice), Ectoplasm (Frozen Ghost, pineapple juice, and melon liqueur), or my personal favorite, Icy Dead People (The Sixth Sense, anyone?) made from Frozen Ghost, peach Schnapps, and cranberry juice, these tasty concoctions, created by mixologist Cat Miltenberger, added an element of campy fun to the event.
As the party started to fill up, I made my way through the clusters of people scattered throughout the haunt to find bartenders, PR execs, and Glazer’s representatives (the company that distributes the super-premium) to provide more information about the product itself. The bartenders knew little about the product, but one took a straight shot and divulged that although Ketle One was his vodka go-to, Frozen Ghost was smooth and easy on the palate; an opinion shared by several partygoers. The PR and Glazer’s reps all knew that the five-times distilled spirit (an equal mix of Canadian wheat and rye) that’s prepared in Western Canada had launched on October 1, would be sold in 10 states across the U.S., and that Tobias was the inspiration behind the drink.
But who is Tobias? It’s said that decades ago a Canadian farmer named Tobias began to outsell his fellow farmers, despite the small size of his farm. It was eventually discovered that “the spring that watered Tobias’ land was the sweetest and purest in the area.” Then one fateful and chilly night, a neighbor decided to take matters into his own hands and redirect the spring to his own farm. Caught in the act, the greedy neighbor panicked and attacked Tobias, who fell unconscious into the spring, which froze during the night. The murder would have gone unsolved if it weren’t for the neighbor’s ultimate confession due to haunting from none other than Tobias himself. Today, the spring’s location is kept secret for “our own protection” but is the very source used to manufacture Frozen Ghost. And despite the massive loophole in the story (apparently we can’t trespass on the ghost-guarded spring, but the Glazer’s team can?), I think it’s a very creative idea to construct a ghost story to promote the paranormal product. So kudos, Levenson & Brinker, the PR team behind Frozen Ghost, for the ghost story and the party.
