When film legend Dan Aykroyd flew into Auckland recently, there were no bands of Blues Brothers to be got back together or ghosts to be busted. A different kind of spirit entirely, called him here. Vodka.

The actor/writer was in town to promote Crystal Head vodka, the award-winning spirit Aykroyd co-created to ?ll the inside of the iconic bottle he dreamed up with artist John Alexander. The idea for the bottle evolved when the pair realised they shared a fascination for the legend of 13 ancient crystal skulls rumoured to hold special healing powers and knowledge of the destiny of humans.  After two years of design and creating - we designed the skull to capture the idea of purity and clarity”, Akyroyd says – the bottle was complete.

But that’s when the really hard work began – creating something extraordinary enough to be put inside. “I bought and tried a lot of vodkas and really checked them out,” Akyroyd says, chatting in Auckland after an epic launch party at Tom Tom bar. “I really looked at the bottles and opened them up and when you smell them they smell like perfume; Chanel 25 or something. “There’s also an over-viscosity, an oiliness in the front of the mouth that makes you want to clean your tongue.I thought to myself – I’ve got to do better than this.” And so Crystal Head was – slowly – born.“I started doing my research. I found out there are sweeter waters and if you use sweeter waters you can get a better-tasting vodka,” he says. “Then there are also better grains and better manufacturing processes. So we incorporated all of these, and took all the additives out.”

Crystal Head is quadruple distilled, then ?ltered seven times. The ?nal three ?ltrations are through semi-precious 500-million year old crystals known as Herkimer Diamonds. The ingredients are just as special. Crystal Head is produced with water sourced from a deep glacier lake in Newfoundland, Canada. And there are no additives – no sugar, glycerin or citrus oil.  Aykroyd’s clearly done something right – Crystal Head has gone on to win awards, including double gold at the 2011 World Spirits competition. And if that wasn’t cool enough, Crystal Head is the of?cial vodka of the Rolling Stones.“ Our notes are sweet, vanilla, dry and crisp with a kick of heat off the ?nish. If you have Crystal Head in a cold shot with a little lime, you’re going to get a beautiful sweetcorn taste. You’re also going to taste a little ? re and heat – we don’t mask that it’s alcohol.“Bartenders love Crystal Head because there’s no additives in it,
so anything else they add to it really highlights the ?avours – so it’s really a blank canvas to showcase their work and ideas,” Aykroyd says.

And though his Auckland visit was ?eeting, Aykroyd has high praise for the team promoting Crystal Head here, and for the country itself. “We’ve loved New Zealand, and the distributors and retailers really get the brand and what makes it special,” he says. “I feel like I’ve been here before because I did see Lord of the Rings. I think we can say there is something special about New Zealand. “You’re a little like the Canadians. You like to have fun but you’re nice and polite and you’re a dose of good real people.”

Crystal Head comes in miniatures, 700ml and 1.5L bottles. Available at selected Liquorland stores.