Where to try Bellion
Seed Kitchen & Bar in Marietta is the only restaurant in metro Atlanta serving this new product. Here are stores in Georgia carrying Bellion vodka with NTX:
Cumming Beverage Mart, 1770 Buford Highway, Cumming.
Larry's Beverage Outlet, 4783 Jonesboro Road, Union City.
Spirits South, 1403 Gaskin Ave. S., Douglas
Carriage Hills Bottle Shop, 3825 Northside Drive, Macon.
Lovejoy Package Store, 2160 Talmadge Road, Lovejoy.
Americus Package, 1040-A E. Forsyth St., Americus.
Kilroys, 4879 Old National Highway, College Park.
Liquor Barn, 3990 N. Valdosta Road, Valdosta.
The Tap Room, 6015 Lynmark Way, Fairburn.
A premium vodka infused with NTX, which studies show reduces alcohol’s damage to the liver, made its metro Atlanta debut last week.
The human clinical trials on NTX, a patented formula developed by Chigurupati Technologies, showed a 90 percent protection rate and some DNA protection as well, but does this “healthier” vodka measure up to the taste test?
Bar manager David Peek of Seed Kitchen & Bar in Marietta did his research on Bellion vodka, the first liquor to be infused with NTX. “We have a health-conscious clientele, and a healthier option would be a big selling point,” he said.
A mix of customers — men and women, ranging in age from mid-20s to mid-60s — agreed to try Bellion. Seed regulars Cam and Donna Higgins of Marietta — who normally favor Ketel One and Tito’s premium vodkas, respectively — described themselves as “vodka purists.” They elected to go with a classic martini with a twist.
“It’s delicious, fantastic,” Donna Higgins said. “I can’t wait to buy some.”
Then, the former model asked, “Does NTX add any calories?”
When she learned that NTX is a blend of glycyrrhizin (an extract of licorice root), mannitol and potassium sorbate — ingredients commonly found in food products and candy — she said, “My liver thanks you then.” All three ingredients are on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration list of 89 approved additives safe for human consumption.
Her husband, Cam, said, “I like the anise flavor. It’s unique and incredibly good. It’s subtle and doesn’t overpower the taste of the vodka.”
Courtney Jones of west Midtown also opted for a classic martini and declared it “very smooth and really nice.”
Jeff South, owner of Intrigue Salon across the street from Seed, agreed to sample special cocktails that Peek had designed around Bellion’s hint of anise. “You get that anise, which gives it a herbaceousness with nice subtle notes on the back side,” the Buckhead resident said.
Next, he tried a classic martini. He praised Bellion’s slight sweetness but noted that it needed to be served highly chilled, because the sweetness increased as the drink got warmer.
After Fred Franciose of Marietta agreed to replace his favored Tito’s with Bellion in his favorite Greyhound — a cocktail with vodka, grapefruit juice and a twist of lime — he said, “I’d definitely order it again. It was very smooth, with no after-taste.”
Food blogger Rose Hoffer of Inman Park liked the anise on the tongue at the end.
Peek agreed with her assessment. “The slight anise flavor incorporates the spirit through the cocktail unlike a lot of vodkas, which are pretty flavorless. Bellion has a smooth, good character that holds up in a cocktail.”
After the rave reviews his customers gave Bellion, he said he’d likely add it to his regular lineup.
NTX is giving rise to “a new category called ‘functional spirits,’ a healthier choice for consumers,” said Melanie A. Bonvicino, a spokeswoman for Chigurupati, based in Telangana, India. She noted that the infusion doesn’t limit the buzz that some drinkers enjoy or affect the taste of the liquor, other than the hint of anise that our tasters detected.
Bellion vodka with NTX is being introduced in Georgia, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, Iowa and Arkansas, but will be distributed nationwide by December. Bellion Spirits, which has a limited-time exclusive deal for the technology, plans to release its premium tequila in November, followed by five other distilled spirits in 2017.
Entrepreneur Harsha Chigurupati, 32, spent the past 10 years and $35 million on finding the breakthrough combo of additives to make alcohol consumption safer.
In March, Chigurupati and his partners petitioned the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to permit them to make scientifically proven claims about how NTX mitigates the harmful effects of alcohol consumption on the liver. The request is currently under review.
What’s next for the company? “After covering every major spirit category, beer would be next, before wine, since beer is more harmful to the liver than wine,” Chigurupati said. “Also, optimizing NTX for wine would require a larger change in formulation, which would take significantly longer.”
In U.S. studies, the product was tested on an approximately equal number of men and women of varied ages. The studies looked at two major protocols: one for immediate DNA damage/protection, which measured various markers starting from 15 minutes to 6 hours after drinking. The other was for liver damage, which measured markers after two weeks of drinking every night.
NTX has three properties that make it a more healthful choice for drinkers, said Sidney Stohs, dean emeritus of Creighton University Medical Center School of Pharmacy in Nebraska and lead author on the trial results. “NTX exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, thereby counteracting the oxidative tissue damage, inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects of alcohol in the liver.”
He noted that the studies revealed that the differences between men and women’s responses to NTX were statistically insignificant.
Not everyone is toasting NTX. Dr. Tim Nguyen, founder of Atlanta Integrative Medical Center, warned that the product “does not reduce the effects of alcohol and may encourage people to drink more. Perpetuating the notion that the consumption of alcohol is not damaging to the liver will give some drinkers the green light to binge, and potentially do much greater harm to their heart, stomach, lungs and brain.”
The Tax and Trade Bureau, which governs marketing statements and health claims on alcoholic beverages, has promised to rule on the company’s petition by late July. If approved, the company would become the first authorized to make any positive claims on health on alcoholic beverage labels.
About the Author
