Wilmington’s Blue Shark Vodka, announced last week that it claimed six international medals in its first year of production, including a Platinum SIP Award.
 
The SIP Awards is the only international spirits competition where consumers serve as judges. 
 
Now the family behind Blue Shark Vodka had enlisted the help of former NFL player and Hoggard High School grad, Connor Barth, to help them expand nationally by serving as spokesman for the brand.
 
Barth, who resides in Wrightsville Beach, played for the University of North Carolina before a 10-year career in the NFL. He was a member of the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. He holds a number of records, including the highest field goal percentage in Buccaneers franchise history.
 
“I’m happy to be part of the Blue Shark family and use my platform to introduce the rest of the country to Wrightsville Beach and its amazing vodka,” he said.
 
Barth said he first tried Blue Shark Vodka during its debut week at King Neptune’s of Wrightsville Beach, the distillery’s first local account.
 
“I had no idea what to expect trying local vodka for the first time, but I immediately wanted to know more about Blue Shark,” Barth said. “It was an incredible first sip. That was July 2019, and now if a bar doesn’t carry it I just ask for a beer.”
 
Barth now joins two other celebrities that have joined forces with Wilmington’s first spirit. This summer, world-renowned ocean mural artist Wyland designed a limited-edition label for Blue Shark.

The proceeds from these special edition bottles benefitted both shark research and ocean conservation.

This month, bartender and author Dale Degroff will release his newest cocktail recipe book, The New Craft of the Cocktail, using Blue Shark Vodka in 13 of his recipes.
 
“We are thrilled to take Blue Shark Vodka beyond North Carolina with the hopes of being a national brand by 2021,” said co-founder Mark Bloomquist. “We had a wildly successful first year -- a Platinum SIP Award medal, we sold out our special edition Wyland artist bottles in mere days and we have fans across the state. Now it is time for the rest of the country to see North Carolina has the world’s smoothest vodka.”
 
Blue Shark Vodka uses non-GMO heirloom-variety sweet corn grown in North Carolina’s Southern Piedmont region. Master Distiller Brooke Bloomquist uses a small-batch, triple-filtration process to yield the smooth spirit that has the tagline, “the shark that doesn’t bite.”
 
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