Blackleaf Vodka Founders on Building an Organic, Sustainable Spirits Brand + Holiday Cocktail Ideas

Looking for last minute gift ideas? Visit TheWineCoachClub.com for Laurie's Wine Picks & Packs. Use Code FORSTERCOACH for free shipping.

Don't forget that experiences last longer than things...check out Laurie's Event Calendar for some great upcoming events in February, March and beyond!

In this episode, Laurie sits down with Kevin Larkai and Monté Burrow, co-founders of Blackleaf Vodka, to talk about what it really takes to build an organic vodka brand in a crowded spirits market. From the story behind the Blackleaf name to their mission-driven focus on sustainability, Kevin and Monté share how quality, values, and accessibility can coexist in a premium spirit—no snobbery required.

The conversation dives into the realities of launching and growing a vodka brand, navigating the alcohol industry, and why thoughtful sourcing and eco-conscious practices matter more than ever to today’s consumers. Plus, just in time for entertaining season, the duo shares festive cocktail ideas and hosting inspiration designed to help you create memorable moments with friends and family—because great drinks are really about great experiences.

Cocktail Recipes:

Blackleaf Pineapple Mule

• 2 oz Blackleaf Organic Vodka
• 2 oz Pineapple juice, chilled
• 0.5 oz Freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 oz Chilled ginger beer (Fever-Tree or Barritt's are recommended)
• Ice cubes
• Garnish: Pineapple wedge or slice, lime wheel, and/or a sprig of fresh mint

Instructions

1. Fill a copper mug or cocktail glass generously with ice.
2. Pour in the vodka, pineapple juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice.
3. Top the mixture with chilled ginger beer.
4. Stir gently to combine the ingredients.
5. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, a lime wheel, and a sprig of fresh mint. Smacking the mint between your palms before adding helps release its aroma. 

Blackleaf Expresso Martini

• 2 oz Blackleaf Vodka 
• 1 oz Freshly brewed Espresso (chilled) or Cold Brew Concentrate
• 0.5 oz Coffee Liqueur (Mr. Black, Kahlúa, or Borghetti)
• 0.5 oz Simple Syrup (optional, for sweetness)
• Ice

Instructions

1. Chill Glass: Place your martini or coupe glass in the freezer.
2. Combine: Add vodka, espresso, coffee liqueur, simple syrup (if using), and ice to a cocktail shaker.
3. Shake Vigorously: Shake hard for 15-20 seconds to create froth.
4. Strain: Fine-strain into your chilled glass.
5. Garnish: Add garnish (e.g., three coffee beans). 

Transcript

Laurie Forster (00:27)
This week on The Sipping Point,

We're gonna talk to the team at Black Leaf Vodka, a premium French crafted vodka. And they're gonna give us some great holiday classic cocktail ideas for all your upcoming parties. In the meantime, if you're looking for some great gift ideas, here's a couple of them. Go to thewinecoachclub.com, check out my wine packs, a bubbly pack, a French Rhone Valley pack, both for $80 with free shipping. If you use the code FORESTER.

Also, I have a couple of events coming up in the new year on the 12th of February. I have a great fundraiser called Art Uncorked. I'm going to pair art with fabulous wines over a five course meal. This is going to take place in Ocean City, Maryland, a great destination if you're looking for a weekend getaway. And it's just going to be a lot of fun for a great cause that's going to benefit the Art League of Ocean City.

And then on the 26th of February, my Sip and Style event in Oxford, Maryland, I'm pairing up with Beth Hashen, a style expert, and I'm gonna show you the great new wine styles for the coming spring. She's gonna show you the fashion styles. We're gonna have great food, wine, and conversation. It's all at thewinecoach.com slash events. All right, let's go ahead and bring in the team from Blackleaf. Blackleaf Vodka is a premium French

crafted vodka founded by Kevin Larkai founder and CEO, alongside his co-founder, Monte Burrow. Known for its meticulous distillation process and commitment to quality, Blackleaf delivers a clean, crisp, ultra-smooth vodka with subtle hints of sweetness. Even better, the brand is deeply rooted in sustainability and eco-conscious practices from sourcing, packaging, and proving you don't have to sacrifice your values

for a great cocktail. So let's go ahead and bring the guys into the show.

Laurie Forster (02:26)
Kevin and Monte, welcome to The Sipping Point.

Monte' Burrow (02:29)
Thanks for having us.

Kevin Larkai (02:29)
Thank you

Laurie Forster (02:30)
All right. I love this. got the Blackleaf team here. And I'm so excited to hear more about the origins of the company. so Kevin, I know this kind of all stemmed from a trip you took to France. And we don't normally think of France for vodka. So tell me how did this all come together?

Kevin Larkai (02:48)
Yeah, so I'll go a little bit further back in the story. So I think the first thing is I identify as a dreamer, right? So I believe in the power of our dreams. I honestly believe, you know, we get to shape the future, right? And that means the products that we consume, the experiences that we have. So that was always something that, you know, I wanted to do in terms of put my magic out into the world, right? So I was on vacation in Cognac, France.

And I ended up meeting what seemed to be the only black person in Cognac. It turns out he was a soccer player, married to a woman there. So he had become quite the local celebrity. So long story short, he introduces me to a master craftsman who owns a fifth generation Cognac house. And we hit it off, and the rest is history. So what we wanted to do was

You know, we're really pioneers in believing in organic and eco-consciousness, right, and bringing it into the spirits world. So we wanted to create a vodka unlike anything on the market. And I think we've successfully done that. We've, know, the name of the brand is Black Leaf. It's a French organic vodka.

It's been, it's, you we've gotten rave rave reviews on the quality. but you know, along the way as a kind of a solo founder, you know, you realize that in order for you to go, there's a, there's a saying that says, you know, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Right. So I joined forces with, with Monte and you know, we're, the dynamic duo kind of trying to take Black Leaf to the next level.

Laurie Forster (04:27)
Monte, tell me how you connected with Kevin and why you were so excited to be a part of Black Leaf.

Monte' Burrow (04:33)
Yes, I don't have the sexy France story, but you know, I've always loved brands. I just always loved brands and how you can take a great brand, the right people and connect them and create these moments. ⁓ So I had never necessarily thought about, hey, let me go out and start my own alcohol brand until I actually met Kevin. And, you know, he had this product, this unbelievable product. I was actually working for Diageo at the time. So, you know, I'd seen

Laurie Forster (04:46)
Mm-hmm.

Monte' Burrow (05:02)
products by the hundreds, but it was something unique, exceptional about that product. And I don't know, it felt right. So, you know, we stayed in touch. And by the time I left my corporate job, I should say, I knew I wanted to do something in that space. And I just happened to give him a call and say, Hey, you know, I remember meeting you a while back. How's the brand going? We spoke and you know, he like, it was there, but you know, it just a product. How can we really do something around it?

Laurie Forster (05:17)
Mm-hmm.

Monte' Burrow (05:28)
Long story short, there was an energy over that phone call that was similar to that energy when we first met. you know, a lot of things happened between that point and where we're at now. But the idea came about, let's join forces and let's see if we can really make this special.

Laurie Forster (05:43)
So there was chemistry between the two of you and you already had wine and spirits background, I guess, through Diageo, which is great. So we have a dreamer and we have someone who maybe has worked this with other brands. One of the things I wanted to talk about is holiday entertaining. And we're going to get a little bit more to the process of Blackleaf and how it's made in a minute.

Monte' Burrow (05:46)
Absolutely.

Mm.

Laurie Forster (06:07)
But if folks are looking for ideas for holiday entertaining, you guys gave me two cocktails, kind of classics that still work great with maybe a little twist on it for the holidays. And the first one is the blackleaf pineapple mule. And so I'm gonna make one, but maybe you guys can, one of you, I don't know who wants to take the hand off here, tell me a little bit about this recipe and why you decided to take a twist on the mule.

Kevin Larkai (06:33)
Yeah, I could take a stab at it. For the mule. So mules are classics, right? So how do you do something slightly different, right? And adding the pineapple element, it's already refreshing. It just adds an extra, almost tropical experience to it all. So very simple cocktail, but I say it's foolproof in that if you follow the steps, it'll come out delicious every single time.

Right. And it's great for hosting. It's always a fan favorite. So what it has in there is obviously the vodka. It's about two ounces of Blackleaf vodka. It's two ounces of pineapple juice. We prefer organic. You know, half an ounce of fresh lime juice, half an ounce of simple syrup, and then you top it off with ginger beer. So super simple to make. ⁓

Laurie Forster (07:11)
Mm-hmm.

Yes. All right.

Kevin Larkai (07:23)
absolutely delicious cocktail. But Laurie, you tell us. ⁓

Monte' Burrow (07:27)
Hahaha

Laurie Forster (07:29)
Yeah, I mean, I've had it, mules plenty of times and I do love ginger beer. That's one of the reasons why I love it. But this does give it a whole nother festive quality with the pineapple because that's the one thing that you usually don't get. So it gives it a fun variation, a little bit, you know, more sweetness to it, which I think is fun at the holidays. And I think you can put some fun garnishes in there as well, you know.

I can even see like a sprig of rosemary, but you could do a classic lime, but this is so easy to make. And that's why I really appreciate it. You could almost set up a mule bar where people could make their own. And that's really nice when you're having a party, cause you're trying to do a lot of things, but you could have your blackleaf there. You have your ginger beer and then, you know, the pineapple, the lime juice.

and the simple syrup and just kinda, or even batch them, which is what I did. I put everything together before we got on here. And if people want to find blackleaf vodka, what's the best way for them to do that right now so they can get it in time for their holiday parties?

Monte' Burrow (08:34)
Yeah, so the easiest thing to do is to either jump on Google or any of your chat, chat GPTs and look us up. You can find us online at blackleafvodka.co on our website. We actually have a list of locations where to find us. So if you're in one of the states where we are in retail, we have a pretty, pretty robust description of where they can find us, but you can also go to reserve bar. So reserve bar.com a great partners for of ours.

who actually are distributed partners for us from the vantage point of delivering direct to consumers. So they will just ship it directly to your door in about 33-ish states. So it won't be hard to find us if you're looking for us.

Laurie Forster (09:16)
That's great. Awesome. so Kevin, one of the things you said you were so committed to doing is making this product organic and really clean, I guess, which is something I feel like a lot of consumers are really tuned into right now, anywhere in the wine and spirits world. So tell me about the process with your partners, what you learned in cognac that makes this so organic. And I know that you are USDA certified organic, which

is great as well. So tell us what are you doing to make this a cleaner version of vodka?

Kevin Larkai (09:49)
Yeah, I mean, you know, again, for us, it was in some ways being visionary and being pioneers again in the belief, right? you know, organic is something that existed in a lot of other categories, not so much in the spirit space. And so I always say similar to like AI, where I feel like AI is inevitable. That is the future. I early on felt the same way about organic and eco-conscious. It was super important to us.

And what that means for us in terms of the product is it's the ingredients that is used. you know, quality in, quality out, right? So for us, you know, it's, we use, it's a wheat-based vodka. So we use wheat that is not touched with any pesticides, insecticides, nothing, nothing of the sort, right? So it's purity from that perspective. But then we take it a step further in really embracing sustainability, right? So.

you know, all the way through the process. If you think about the mash, the wheat mash, we recycle that and we use it as animal feed, right? Because we don't want to just waste. And then when you now extend to the packaging, we made very deliberate choices. The bottle, we go with a bottle with less glass because it's lighter weight. So as it's transported around the world, it's less of an impact on the environment. So we wanted to really make sure we own that. But, you know,

our one about taglines is making organic sexy. we don't want it to be a lot of times people do all of that and they put a brown paper label on it. And that's the full expression for us. The full thing is making organic sexy. the sustainability, the organic integrity, but then we also package it with beautiful sleek pack.

Laurie Forster (11:35)
I showed earlier, but we'll give another great shot for those who are watching on video and I'll post a picture on my website show page as well. But it really is eye catching and ⁓ Where does Blackleaf come from?

Monte' Burrow (11:48)
all credibility to Kevin who curated the name prior to me joining. But I think that in itself was part of the mystique that made me extremely curious. And the marketer in me really enjoyed where it came from. So when you think of Black outside of ethnicities and nationalities and anything from that sort, you typically think of premiumization, you will.

black tie, you think of, you know, something a little bit more luxurious, you think of something a little bit more elegant, right? And you have that, right, so exactly, right. So you have that level of distinction that lends itself to perceptions of quality, right? But then you have the leaf, which is the ode to organic, to natural, to something in nature, right? So if you even take a literal blackleaf, imagine walking through a field of just greenery everywhere.

Laurie Forster (12:18)
Black card. ⁓

Monte' Burrow (12:42)
and you stumble upon a blackleaf, it stands out, right? So this product stands out literally like a force of nature and you have that essence of premium and organic. you know, so even going back to Kevin talked about the tagline, making an organic sexy, another one we have is laid back luxury. So if you take that bottle of blackleaf and the name blackleaf, but you think about the cocktail that you made, right? It was a pretty simple cocktail, very approachable cocktail, right?

Laurie Forster (12:46)
Mmm.

Monte' Burrow (13:10)
To me, that's part of that laid back luxury. I can see a group of people not being pretentious, getting a couple of Moscow mule mugs, pouring some blackleaf in, some pineapple juice and some other things, and really enjoying it. So, you know, it's really that connection to being premium, but being accessible.

Laurie Forster (13:10)
Mm-hmm.

I that really speaks to me because that's my whole mission in the wine and spirits world. But wine is, you know, where I started is to make it more fun and approachable because when I was first learning way back in the day, I was so intimidated and sometimes you get attitude. So I love that you're also trying to eradicate that from a premium spirit, you know, in that, yeah, this could be a great bottle for bottle service in Vegas.

but it's also great for just every Friday night with pizza and friends or something. So I appreciate that. so it sounds like you created a name that has many different meanings, no matter how you look at it.

Monte' Burrow (14:07)
Yeah. And again, just linking it back, it's extremely accessible and approachable. Like I had a good form of colleague of mine and I was not as versed in wines before I joined the industry. And I remember asking him, and this is someone in wines, I said, what is the best type of wine to get? And I'm thinking he's going to school me. know, he said, the one that you like. And it clicked. It's not about the price. It's not about the provenance. Sometimes it's

Kevin Larkai (14:07)
size.

Laurie Forster (14:33)
Yes.

Monte' Burrow (14:36)
what feels right for you, right? So we wanted to create something that was extremely like, woo, once you had it, you wanna come back, but you're not scared to approach it.

Laurie Forster (14:39)
Mm-hmm.

So Kevin, in creating the brand, because this is a huge undertaking, creating a brand in the wine and spirits world, which is so vast right now, what do you feel like was something you learned that surprised you about going into this industry, if you will?

that maybe as an outsider you didn't expect.

Kevin Larkai (15:09)
Yeah, I mean, think alcohol is probably one of the hardest places, the hardest industry to tackle. So in some ways, I say being naive in the beginning was very helpful because if I knew all the steps, I may have been discouraged early on. But in the space, I think the main thing is there's something that's known as a three-tier system.

Right. So what that means is us as manufacturers, as producers, we cannot sell directly to a consumer. So we need to go through a distributor who ends up, you know, functioning as sort of the gatekeeper who then sells to retailers, your bars and restaurants and liquor stores, and then ultimately to the distributor. So that comes, it's whole set of challenges and every state is different. So you need a distributor in every single state.

So just navigating all of that has been interesting. And then just the way the industry works, right? You have to, there's an element of B2B because you are in effect dealing with these distributors, but then you also have to market to the consumer. So it's a very layered space and it's just been learnings all along the way.

Laurie Forster (16:04)
Mm-hmm.

It is.

And I think you're right, though. There's one way to market to your distributors. But in the end, you need those consumers to be pulling the bottle off the shelf. And so it needs to be something that is salient to them, which I think you found, this whole organic, you're a dreamer. I love it's the small brand, not the big guys brand. And it's premium, but laid back. All those things, I think, speak to

the modern consumer right now in the market. great. And Monte, guess when you came on board, you probably were like, yeah, I know all about the three tier system.

Monte' Burrow (17:01)
Yeah, yeah, it's like he said, you know, it's it probably was good that he wasn't in the industry because it may have jaded him a bit, you know what I mean? But kudos to taking that step and you know, now working on this side of the fence, you know, I have the opportunity to see just how how different it is, you know, I mean, and it's good. It's good and bad. Right. And I would say

Laurie Forster (17:10)
Yeah.

Monte' Burrow (17:26)
One of the things that really surprised me, well, I shouldn't say surprised me, it didn't surprise me, but it it confirmed me. It was like, oh, aha, is, know, when you're working with the big boys on the big side, it's funny how the phone calls always were answered and the emails were always addressed quickly. if things happen very quickly and at your beck and call, when you're a smaller brand, phone calls don't get answered as quickly. The emails may not.

Laurie Forster (17:54)
Mm-hmm.

Monte' Burrow (17:55)
get answered as quickly. So you've got to somewhat prove yourself. And as you're doing it, which we're doing, you're seeing that shift. But it's very interesting, you know, to be on this side, to see just how those ecosystems really maneuver and gives us an opportunity to figure out, you know what, if we keep showing up and showing up the right way, we can break down those barriers. But it's a very interesting space to play in.

Laurie Forster (18:19)
All right. Well, you guys also gave another great idea for a holiday cocktail classic, if you will. And what I love about this one too is that you really can batch this and then it's espresso martini. So you can pre-mix and then just shake it when you're getting ready to enjoy it. So tell me a little bit about your recipe for the espresso martini and I'm going to pour mine in my glass.

Kevin Larkai (18:44)
know, espresso martini, that's been a very popular drink, right? So, you know, some people make it with all types of things, but it originated with vodka. So we wanted to make sure we had, again, a foolproof, delicious recipe that people could try Black Leaf with. So with ours, it's, two ounces of the vodka. You've got half an ounce of coffee liqueur.

Laurie Forster (19:03)
Mm-hmm.

Kevin Larkai (19:09)
You know, you could go with whatever your favorite is. One ounce of espresso, simply Kahlua, that's a good one. Then a half an ounce of simple syrup. So you do that and the magic is in the shaking, right? So get the, get it to froth so it looks like the espresso martinis that you're used to. But very simple. So very simple, you know, four ingredients.

Laurie Forster (19:22)
Mm-hmm.

I did okay, I think I could do better.

Kevin Larkai (19:36)
and it's delicious.

Monte' Burrow (19:38)
One thing I would like to add to that is again, I'm going to go back to that laid back luxury play, you know, you can't take yourself too seriously. So we even though we have some pretty awesome recipes, you can put your own spin on all of them, right? If you like yours a little less sweet, you like it a little more sweet. If you want to add some caramel essence or whatever the case may be, the thing is to have fun with it. The reality is we're making alcohol. We're making something that can help support

Laurie Forster (19:52)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Monte' Burrow (20:07)
and supplement the moments that you're creating when you're hanging out with friends, family, or you want some alone time, but you make it your way. And that's what's super important. you know, I say we are a compliment to the lifestyle that the people are leading. So like for me right now, in my little, my, branded old Wala, what I do, I'm not going say it's full of vodka, but I put a little bit of vodka in here, a little bit of tonic water and can sip on it. You know what I mean? So it's, it's, you have fun with it. Have fun with it.

Laurie Forster (20:22)
I like it.

Mm.

Yeah, that's simple.

And I think with this too, if you wanted to make it more holiday, know, there's peppermint, you know, liqueurs that we couldn't do in here. You said caramel could be a great one. again, because you can batch this and then just have different garnishes out. You could do like a make your own. You have a couple of shakers out and people can do their own, which is really fun. I think interactive parties are great this time of year because

Monte' Burrow (20:42)
So many twists. Yeah.

Yeah.

Laurie Forster (21:01)
people standing around in the small talk, but when you get making the drinks and having fun with your bar and your food, I think that just kind of brings everybody together. So I love these two cocktails and the fact that you, the focus of what you guys are doing. Are there ways that people can interact with you live? Are you doing specific tastings anywhere, appearing anywhere? What's the best way if people want to connect with

either of you or the brand.

Monte' Burrow (21:29)
Yeah, so I'd say again, the website blackleafvodka.co, they can reach out, but connect with us on social media at Black Leaf Vodka. So to answer the first part of your question, we're always doing things to enhance experiences, right? So locally, take the Espresso Martini as example, we actually sponsored, this has been a few months back, but we sponsored an Espresso Martini making event, right?

They had a bartender mixologist there showing you how to make espresso martinis using blackleaf vodka, right? So the whole idea of doing things with drinks in particular are to share the moments. And we're always looking for fun and innovative and inspirational ways to connect people, which is the main goal through using our brand as kind of the conduit of that. So there's always different things going on like that.

As we find opportunities to collaborate with other groups, do that as well. So I would say the best way to find out or to stay abreast of those opportunities, check us out on social media, reach out to us on the website as well.

Laurie Forster (22:22)
Mm-hmm.

Great, awesome. And I have an idea for you guys. I have a friend, Aaron Joseph, who has a company called Kane Mixers. I don't know if you have encountered Aaron yet, but he has great mixers that would be a fun and easy accompaniment to Black Leaf. So if you don't already know him, you definitely have to connect because he's local as well.

Monte' Burrow (22:45)
Shout out to Aaron and Ezra.

We know those guys well.

Laurie Forster (22:52)
Okay, awesome. Perfect.

Kevin Larkai (22:52)
Yeah

Laurie Forster (22:53)
Well, you guys have given us so many great ideas for the holidays with these cocktails, but I know people can go to blackleafvodka.co to get more I just appreciate your time today on The Sipping Point, getting us ready for a spirited

Holiday with Black Leaf Vodka.

Kevin Larkai (23:10)
Thank you. Thanks for having us, Laurie.

Monte' Burrow (23:12)
Thank

Laurie Forster (23:12)
right, cheers.

Laurie Forster (23:13)
I hope you enjoyed getting to know the team over at Black Leaf Vodka. I'll post a link to their website on my show page and the recipes, which I found super delicious. So you're all set for your upcoming parties. If you're still looking for those gifts, don't forget to go visit thewinecoachclub.com or thewinecoach.com slash events. Lots of great things out there, experiences over things. That's my theme for the year

Hopefully it is for you too. In the meantime, let's connect on social media. You can find me on Instagram at The Wine Coach and also on Facebook, just search The Wine Coach. Let's connect there. And until next week, cheers.