For a liquor whose main feature is its absolute clarity, vodka is pretty interesting stuff. Folks have been making vodka for — according to most estimates — over 1000 years. And yes, the liquor has a reputation for being somewhat boring, but its clean nature means vodka causes fewer hangovers than other liquors, and is probably better for people with allergies, too. It’s also why vodka is such a great base for flavors, infusions and all kinds of creative experimentation in cocktails.
These reasons — plus the fact that vodka has fewer calories than other liquors — are all part of why vodka is still the most popular liquor in the U.S. (even if tequila is coming for its spot). And since vodka is so popular, it’s no surprise that lots of celebrities have gotten into the vodka business in recent years. With that in mind, we’ve put together a little roundup of some of the best celebrity vodkas on the market. Maybe the next time you’re planning on making a cocktail, you can grab one of these and imagine you’re in the company of your favorite A-lister.
Crystal Head Vodka (Dan Aykroyd)
Depending on how old you are, Dan Aykroyd may or may not be one of the most well-known celebrities on this list, but the comedy legend definitely has a claim to the coolest celebrity vodka throne. You’ve probably seen Crystal Head at the liquor store — you can tell because it comes in, well, a crystal head. According to the brand, the unique bottle was designed by Aykroyd and John Alexander. More importantly, the vodka harkens back to Aykroyd’s Canadian upbringing, since it’s made from Canadian corn and water from Newfoundland. Ah, but who are we kidding? The bottle is the reason to buy the stuff.
CÎROC (Sean “Diddy” Combs)
Diddy was ahead of the game when it comes to celebrities endorsing liquor brands, signing on with the British multinational beverage corporation Diageo to represent CÎROC Vodka in 2007. Between 2007 and 2014, sales of cases reportedly went from around 50,000 per year to over 2 million per year. The partnership is showing no signs of slowing down, as this year they’ve announced they’re getting into the ready-to-drink movement with CÎROC Vodka Spritz.
Born and Bred (Channing Tatum)
Born and Bred American Craft Vodka is one of the few potato-based vodkas on this list, which makes sense, because it’s made in Idaho, a state that has the phrase “famous potatoes” right on its car license plates. The brand also claims to use water from the Grand Teton Mountains, so it’s definitely capitalizing on a fair amount of geographical spirit. Channing Tatum, who recently starred in The Lost City, isn’t from Idaho, but he seems pretty excited about being part of the brand. Back in 2017, he put it like this: “I want to just cause a little havoc, get into some trouble, get into some safe, manageable mischief.”
True Vodka (Mike Piazza)
The only superstar athlete on this list, legendary baseball catcher Mike Piazza launched True Vodka in collaboration with GrapeStars, an app that lets you buy celebrity alcohol brands. True Vodka is made from Italian wheat and water from Tuscany, but the brand’s marketing is all New York City — hence the collaboration with Piazza, who played more than half of his hall of fame career for the Mets.
VDKA 6100 (Robert De Niro)
Robert De Niro is, of course, one of the greatest actors all time, from roles in dark, dramatic masterpieces like The Deer Hunter (1978) to hilarious comedies like Midnight Run (1988). Evidently, however, his range extends to the world of celebrity vodkas. According to the brand, De Niro “helped us with the design, packaging, branding and positioning of VDKA 6100.” The vodka itself is actually distilled in New Zealand “using fresh seasonal whey” from the Bay of Plenty region, if that kind of thing matters to you.
King St. Vodka (Kate Hudson)
Kate Hudson — the daughter of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn — has been around celebrities all of her life, so it’s probably no surprise that she’s gotten involved in the world of celebrity branding. In 2013 she co-founded Fabletics, an active-lifestyle brand, and more recently she launched her own vodka. Her story is that she found herself getting ready to make a drink, looking at her bar, and thinking “Are any of these vodkas founded by women?” She discovered that they weren’t, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Voli 305 (Pitbull)
Pitbull’s Voli 305 Vodka is made with “Florida corn,” which makes it a natural fit with the rapper and singer’s Miami, Florida roots. The vodka has shown up in signature cocktails at Sugar Factory, including the Miami location of the restaurant. It’s difficult to ascertain whether the Florida corn is doing anything special, but the brand’s Miami pride — it’s “made and distilled in the heart of Miami, FL” — gives it a fun vibe if you feel like you want to celebrate being in the Sunshine State.
Bedlam (Jason Derulo)
Back in 2020, singer/songwriter Jason Derulo partnered with North Carolina vodka maker Bedlam. Derulo said at the time that Bedlam had been his favorite vodka since he first tried it in 2017. Bedlam is made from rice, actually, which makes it different from the grain- and potato-based vodkas on this list. It’s made in Durham, NC, but it takes its name from the town of Bedlam, Ireland, where — according to the brand — its recipe was perfected seven centuries ago.
Smithworks American Made Vodka (Blake Shelton)
Smithworks, a vodka maker out of Fort Smith, Arkansas, is co-owned by country singer Blake Shelton. Made with corn from places like Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma — where Shelton is originally from — the brand’s marketing is based largely around Shelton’s “America’s Heartland” persona. On the website, you can even watch a video in which Shelton makes a cocktail with a pretty wild combination of the vodka, “diet lemon-lime soda” and a candy cane for, I guess, good holiday cheer.
Vera Wang X Chopin (Vera Wang)
The final two items on our list are limited edition bottles. This one — another of the potato-based variety — is focused on fashion. According to the brand, “Vera Wang personally selected a special variety of young potato for Vera Wang x Chopin that has never been on the market.” That’s not a sentence you get to read every day, but if you’re a fan of fashion, it would be exciting to find a bottle of this stuff, marketed as “the first vodka-fashion collaboration ever to launch in the U.S.”
Belvedere Vodka X Janelle Monáe (Janelle Monáe)
Finally, this limited edition bottle from 2019 was a collaboration between Janelle Monáe and vodka brand Belvedere in support of Monáe’s “Beautiful Future” campaign. In explaining the campaign, which was part of her “Fem the Future” project in response to the lack of women in film and media, Monáe said, “Every day that I get have a better perspective, I get to be a better human and I get to stand with a community of marginalized voices that have something to say that may not have been amplified in a way that they should have been.” Maybe you don’t need an excuse to have a vodka drink from time to time, but a cause like this one might help you out if you ever happen to feel like you do.
