DRINK
Lighting
A Fire
Delaware-based Steel Blu Vodka strives to build its reputation in a crowded field
By Jill Althouse-Wood Photos by Butch Comegys
Special accounts representative Joe Ross (pictured above) says Steel Blu's goal is to develop a product that people ask for by name.
T
hink alcoholic beverage production in Delaware and minds immediately leap to Dogfish Head Brewery — not quite ground zero of the craft brew revolution but not far off. Dogfish Head’s exponential expansion from a kitchen table experiment involving cherries to the behemoth it is today is the stuff of legend. DFH’s success can also be measured in the dozens of breweries now scattered over Delaware today. But beer isn’t the only game in the state. In 2013, Painted Stave brought a similar craftsman’s approach to the distilling of fine spirits in Delaware. Being the first in the first state, they had to help rewrite local laws, paving the way not only for their success but for future liquor distilleries within the state. Taking advantage of this opening, a new spirits company out of Bear has been quietly producing vodka for the last two years and gaining traction in the local market. Though their beginnings have been small and unceremonious — much like Dogfish Head before them — Steel Blu Vodka also has its sights set on a national marketplace. People whisper about the origin story of Steel Blu Vodka as if it is a secret, but the truth is as unsurprising as a local restaurateur who loved vodka-soaked cherries (a fruit that is making its refrain known in local lore) and dreamed of funding a vodka distillery. For Domenico Procope, it was a dream come true. ► NOVEMBER 2021
| OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM
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