Corn-Based Iowa Vodka Hopes Purity Will Justify $24 Price-Tag

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa company hopes its corn-based vodka will succeed because of a new process that eliminates impurities in the finished liquor.

The Mason City Globe Gazette reports IngeniOz vodka started selling for about $24 a bottle in Iowa stores a month ago.

A pure vodka is supposed to be better quality and less likely to cause a hangover. Tests conducted at Iowa State showed Smirnoff vodka has eight impurities, Absolute has 16 and Grey Goose has 14.

The OZ Spirits company was started in 2012 by Johannes Van Leeuwen after he developed the process for creating vodka with zero impurities at Iowa State University.

One of the co-founders, Bill Astor, says the response has been great so far, and he hopes to expand sales beyond Iowa in the future.