It’s like being on the groundfloor and watching the elevator shoot through the top of the building. It’s grape, grain and sugar cane. It’s also wheat- and gluten-free.

Of the many reasons to drink Tahoe Blue Vodka, perhaps the most important is the taste. Tahoe Blue Vodka has won eight awards in less than two years, taking top honors internationally.

Tahoe Blue has been selling well in the Reno/Tahoe area and expanded its sales into Sacramento and the Bay Area, including 60 BevMo stores.

“It was shocking how fast it was selling,” Co-owner and founder Matt Levitt said. “People have been very accepting.”

Levitt, of South Lake Tahoe, said the first batch consisted of 90 cases, which initially made him nervous, but the demand kept growing and the batch size was doubled in the first year. He continued to work his full-time job while Blue’s business boomed. By the beginning of the second year the demand grew to triple the cases of the doubled batch amount from the first year. Levitt took his first paycheck about two weeks ago, pouring all the profits into the business and giving to the community.

In the bottle is a blend of three vodkas as clear as the lake it is named for, and as “Green” as the region it represents. A percentage of its proceeds are donated to preserve The health of Lake Tahoe,

Tahoe Spirits, Inc. is the parent company and brand owner of Tahoe Blue Vodka headquartered in South Lake Tahoe. In Nevada, Southern Wine & Spirits carries Tahoe Blue Vodka.

The vodka is distilled in Mountain View.

A cross-country roadtrip after college graduation landed Matt and Melody in Lake Tahoe. With $40 in their pockets, they instantly knew Tahoe was home. As most young couples do, they scrimped, saved and worked hard.

That was 2001. They got married in 2004 at Round Hill Pines Beach. The Levitts now have three children and a philanthropic vodka label that is flying off the racks and winning awards hand-over-fist. “We love this community,” Matt said. “We are involved with the Education Foundation and the PTA.”

Matt is the co-owner and founder, Melody is the office manager and their friends and business patrners Chris and Kristen DeMay lead sales efforts in the Reno and North Tahoe region.

Tahoe Spirits, the parent company behind Tahoe Blue Vodka, has made donations to the following non profit organizations: St. Theresa’s Parish, Nevada Family Physicians, Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada, Bread & Broth, South Lake Tahoe Canine Association, Live Violence Free, Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation, Christmas Cheer, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Blue Ocean Foundation, Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra, Barton Foundation, Between Horses & Humans, Junior Diabetes of Reno, South Lake Tahoe Police Officer’s Association, Nevada Diabetes Association, Squaw Valley Institute, Tahoe Parents Nursery School, Tahoe Senior Plaza, ALS, Rotary of Douglas County, Tahoe Safe Alliance, Douglas County Schools, El Dorado County Schools, Reno High School, Shane McConkey Foundation, The Tahoe Fund, The North Tahoe Historical Society and the Boys and Girls Club. To learn more about Tahoe Blue Vodka visit http://tahoebluevodka.com.