Photo courtesy Deep Eddy Vodka

Distillers set up shop in the Hill Country, debut cranberry flavor

Deep Eddy Vodka broke ground in 2013 on its 30,000-square-foot distillery located off Hwy. 290, according to John Scarborough, vice president of finance and operations.

While the distillery's top priority is to scale up production to meet increasing demand for the company's premium vodka, he said plans for the site changed when the state Legislature passed laws in the last legislative session allowing distilleries to not only serve but also sell products.

"We expanded the scope a little bit to make the tasting room a little more of a centerpiece, if you will. We will have a bar, and it will also have the ability to be used as an events center," he said, citing weddings as an example.

The site is slated to open in June or July, he said.

"What we really wanted to do was make it a destination facility out in the Hill Country, a place where fans of Deep Eddy can go out and kind of experience the brand," he said.

The launch of Ruby Red Grapefruit vodka in 2013 was a success, he said. Deep Eddy Cranberry will be introduced in Texas stores in early February, Scarborough said.

In 2013, Deep Eddy was ranked the 15th-largest spirit brand and the No. 1 flavored vodka brand in Texas, he said.

Deep Eddy Vodka, 3601 S. Congress Ave., Ste. C104, 512-579-212, www.deepeddyvodka.com