Put down the Bud and pick up the Puretini

This premium organic vodka comes from a company you wouldn't expect — Anheuser-Busch but is not directly targeted at Bud drinkers. Purus vodka, distilled in Italy's Piemonte region, is the first vodka created and marketed specifically by A-B's beverage development subsidiary, Long Tail Libations.

The high end Vodka ($35) is so green, I'm not sure how they make it into a clear liquid. Cultivated without pesticides or commercial fertilizers, Purus uses crystalline water from the Alps and is made with locally harvested 100% organic Italian wheat. Its 100% recyclable bottle is even Earth-friendly with a tree-free paper label, safe soy-based inks, water-based adhesives, and an environmentally sustainable cork closure.

With sales of premium vodkas more than doubled between 2003 and 2006, growing to $778 million from $320 million, Anheuser-Busch is entering a growth market at the time of small incremental growth in their traditional market space. And they have entered with a product that also is noteworthy being an environmentally sound product. Question is do we need another high-end Vodka and will Purus be successful? Since it is currently only available in the Northeast, I guess it is up to us yankees to decide.