Tito's Handmade:
It all started when I went to a watermelon thump in Luling, TX, and my Uncle Phil shared some of his habanero vodka with me. It was cold out of the freezer and hot from the peppers. Really got you going, it wasn't just the alcohol, those peppers affected you like Chinese medicine. You could feel them in your ears, then your hands and feet. After a few years, I was sitting around thinking about what to give my friends for Christmas and decided to make a case of my Uncle's concoction. I didn't stick to my Uncle's recipe since my step dad said he thought the habaneros had crossed with the bell peppers that year. I tripled up on the peppers. They hadn't crossed over and the batch was hot as fire. About 250 people drank out of the 12 bottles and kept telling me to get it on the shelf but not to make it so hot! And, That's how It all began. After starting as a hobby, it went to full time. After talking to a bunch of retailers and distributors. I decided that flavored vodka didn't sell enough volume. It was then I decided the future was in micro-distilled spirits and so I created martini grade vodka made in a potstill. I tried to raise money and after two failed attempts, built my own stills and bottling equipment and got busy.