‘Full circle’: Charlotte woman’s vodka newly stocked in North Carolina ABC stores
Tina Karras defines a breakfast of champions as a bowl of grits and a Bloody Mary. She just brought even more of a North Carolina touch to the hearty morning meal.
Tina’s Vodka, Karras’ creation, now lines shelves in North Carolina ABC stores, according to a news release Wednesday. Retail price is $33.
Karras left Charlotte for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then Los Angeles. She came home with an album and bottles of vodka.
Seeing her namesake spirit stocked in North Carolina was a “full circle” moment, she said.
The female-led vodka company uses organic, non-GMO corn harvested in the Midwest. Her North Carolina roots and love for one of the state’s staple breakfasts — grits — nudged her toward using corn to make her vodka, according to her website.
The company uses only organic corn grown in organic soil by Midwestern family farmers, according to the website. No pesticides, glyphosates or genetically modified seeds are used in the process, it says. Tina’s Vodka also partners with Kiss the Ground, a charity focused on regenerative agriculture and soil health, according to the release.
The brand also uses a coconut shell to distill the vodka up to six times, according to the release.
Before now, the American-made drink was available only in California and Massachusetts. The 750 milliliter bottles are also available online for $35, according to Karras’ website.
