Deep Eddy Vodka

Christopher, the founder of Sweet Leaf Tea, and Auler, the founder of Savvy Vodka, started Deep Eddy Vodka in 2010. At the time, the popularity of sweet tea vodka was quickly increasing. People had already mixed Christopher's tea with vodka for years, noted Cason. It made sense to develop a different product out of something Christopher knew well— sweet tea. So after a few cocktails and long conversations, Christopher and Auler prepared to launch Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka at the 2010 South by Southwest Music and Media Festival.

Cason added that the festival has become a mile-marker of sorts for the business. A year after introducing the sweet tea version, the straight vodka was launched at the 2011 SXSW. By 2012, Deep Eddy was an established presence. Customers like the taste, quality and price of their drinks, Cason said, and that always goes back to the ingredients.

Those ingredients include Austin's clover honey from Good Flow Honey Co., real whole leaf tea and Texas sweet corn. Many competitors' vodkas are based in potato or wheat, but Auler and Christopher chose corn for the taste and ease of distilling.

The taste of the water used is also vital to the product's value, Cason said, because once the pure alcohol is distilled, it is cut with water. Deep Eddy Vodka's water is sourced from Hill Country aquifers.

Beyond ingredients, Cason noted that the product branding helped propel the company to success.

Each Deep Eddy Vodka label sports the illustration of a girl dipping her foot into downtown Austin's Deep Eddy Pool, the oldest swimming pool in Texas.

"Deep Eddy is an icon of the community," Cason said. "For us, in its heyday, it meant refuge for people, spending time in the sun, fun with your friends, water."

His team took creative license with old Deep Eddy artwork, modernized it and created "Betty." Cason said she invokes the company's not-too-serious mood.

In the next 12–18 months, Cason said the company will open a new distillery in the Hill Country.

For Cason, the long hours and effort are well worth it. Two months ago, every full-time employee was given a share of the company, creating a strong interest and loyalty in the business that far exceeds the cost of those shares, Cason said.

Deep Eddy Vodka, 3601 S. Congress Ave., 579-0212, www.deepeddyvodka.com, Twitter: @DeepEddyVodka