...and who seemingly has yet to find a bottom for the puffery that prevails in the current and very sad environment of made up product. To wit:
Summer Love Spiced Pear Vodka
According to the Frozen One, this one is made by a buddy of one his buddies, the latter who happens to be a next door neighbor. So impressive. Buds of a feather I suppose. According to our well positioned, self-appointed reviewer and reporter - bent over - "Summer Love's" story becomes the product:
A fellow Canadian whose alleged backstory is that he created some of his own fruit-infused vodka, which his friends liked so much that - naturally (think Chip Tate) - this crafty canuck then - of course - per Wolfie "...went (to) distilling school, came home, bought a Christian Carl still, and began looking at leasing property in downtown Calgary for his small distillery. That’s when Mike realized that the economics of his business plan wouldn’t fly."
Please tell me he's kidding. Bought a really expensive Carl still and only then realized he couldn't afford to use it? Really? But of course the Frozen One's bud of a buddy didn't give up. It is said he then hooked up with an outfit called SRL Global Distillers who was engaged as a "a third-party distillery who would produce his recipes to his specifications." It is further alleged the vodka is "distilled 5 times" and uses "real fruit" from Alberta! Wow! Double Bow Wow!! This is the Canadian hook that our cool boy must get woodies over.
Hooky, hooky...
It gets even worse. Turns out the designer of the rather blatant, bottom feeding label is, hello! - "...made by Dean Stanton, a well-known Calgary artist who just happens to my next door neighbor... I like both the bottle and the label which have brought a little warmth and sunshine helping to ease the pain of a long winter which has just turned into a cool Alberta Spring."
Damn, this "Summer Love", jobbed out, quasi-Canadian concoction has everything. An engaging backstory, colorful label, alleged quality and authenticity, and not least - a Canadian connection that the Frozen One simply cannot resist. Sounds good, right? Or is the story too good?
Oops...
Well you know me. I just can't help being a bit skeptical when faced with this kind of puffery. Failed local boy who messes up, but urp, doesn't give up and bingo! Produces a Canadian based product, allegedly using real local fruit - a pound per bottle is claimed, and a climate warming label produced by yet another Canadian who - double urp - just happens to be the Frozen One's neighbor.
How incestuously Canadian. And let's not forget the unsubstantiated (and typical) claim of in this case, "5 times distilled" vodka. Ho hum.
Enter Mr. Google
I first found a link to the not-really-the distiller, producer of "Summer Love" products, the local rising star...
https://www.starrdistilling.com/
Couldn't be more local, but the Summer Love website says little more than this puffy paragraph. No details, no pictures of stills, no description of process. Just a short blurb for "now available in stores". Whew!" At Summer Love Vodka, we salute the pursuit of happiness. We aim to combine our passion for good drink, fresh picked fruit and berries, and the amazing Canadian summer.
Our mission is to capture summer in a bottle and share the love with Albertan communities. This means delivering all-natural fruit vodkas to you, and supporting our #sharethelove partners."
Next up was a search for the Wolfies' reported actual producer, SRL Global Distillers. And this is where the real and until now, unreported backstory begins.
