If your gf doesn't enjoy drinking vodka, this might change it : (It sure does look like a perfume bottle )







By ANGELA MONTEFINISE

April 8, 2007 -- The Long Island cocktail wizard who rocked the bar scene in 2003 with his popular Hpnotiq liqueur is at it again - he's set to launch a sparkling vodka drink in New York next month.
The new cocktail, called Nuvo (pictured), is a pink-hued bubbly liqueur with a fruity taste that will be sold in square bottles that at first glance look more like something you'd find at a perfume counter than behind a bar.
Raphael Yakoby said it took three years to come up with the formula for Nuvo, which will go for about $30 for a 375ml bottle or $20 for a 200ml bottle. He plans to market the drink, which may strike some as a carbonated Cosmopolitan, to women.
"I thought that there is a big gap in the liquor industry," he said in a recent interview. "Everything is so male-oriented. The female consumer basically has an apple martini and a cosmopolitan."
In fact, on the front of the re-sealable bottle, Yakoby has put "for her," to underline the make the feminine link. In addition, a portion of each sale will go to women's causes such as breast cancer research or abused-women charities, he said.
Yakoby believes the bottle to be a large part of the marketing allure.
"I wanted to create something that was vodka-based that has the luxury of champagne but the practicality of a spirit," said the 32-year-old self-made millionaire.
After bringing Hpnotiq to market and seeing it catch on among the hip-hop elite and others, Yakoby sold the brand to Heaven Hill Distillery for more than $30 million.
Despite his wealth, Yakoby has been careful to remain true to his hands-on tinkering approach - troubleshooting every aspect of the product's design - that helped make Hypnotiq a success.
"I still tasted about 175 blends," he said, before choosing a concoction that "has a touch of peach, a touch of strawberry, a touch of passion fruit."
"It's really a whole array of natural fruits," the former Forest Hills resident said.
"I would really compare it to an ultra-luxurious mimosa."
Nuvo is scheduled to be launched May 1 complete with a huge media blitz.


Source: New York Post