Wilmington-based Blue Shark Vodka is set to release two new seasonal flavors – a vanilla vodka in the coming weeks and a lemon-infused vodka next spring. 

Profits from the drink sales will go to the Wyland Foundation, according to Mark Bloomquist, the company's founder.   

“Our family wants to give back to the community and the world around us,” Mark Bloomquist said. “We want to see it preserved and protected.” 

He isn’t joking. Over the years, Mark Bloomquist has given back to several organizations dedicated to protecting coastal waters and sea life. The latest, the “Not so Dirty Dozen,” is part of a one-year, 12-beach clean-up effort that involves removing trash and debris from coastlines. Nearby beaches include Wrightsville Beach along with South Carolina’s Sullivan’s Island and beaches in Virginia. Other causes benefit the Atlantic Shark Institute.   

Now, Blue Shark has plans to release two new seasonal drinks that will solely benefit the Wyland Foundation. Partnering with Wyland, an American artist and conservationist, the distillery will combine artwork and vodka for a good cause. Wyland has created a bottle label for the upcoming vanilla vodka that will be out on Dec. 1, according to Mark Bloomquist. 

“We can’t sing his praises enough. The art he creates is moving and meaningful,” he said. 

The artist will also create the art for the lemon-infused vodka that will hit the market next May and be on shelves through the summer of 2024. 

Niki Bloomquist said all profits from the two seasonal drinks will go directly to help restoration efforts of the town of Lahaina in Hawaii.  

“The devastation and destruction of the downtown of Lahaina hit home for me and my family, so accordingly our profits from sales of these drinks will go to the Wyland Foundation,” Niki Bloomquist said. 

A family of divers, Mark Bloomquist said he and his wife feel obligated to give back. He happily shares that the namesake for this distillery, a blue shark is the most docile of sharks and when he has dived down into the ocean, he sees an amazing new world. 

“I’ve had a great life. If we can give back anything at all and make our communities better, that goes a long way,” Bloomquist said.     
 
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