BRETT VITO 2021-10-26 22:10:23
NOBLE WOLF Vodka
Bryce Cottrell, a former standout football player for the University of Texas, has created Noble Wolf distillery in Denton. The spirits are available in hundreds of stores and restaurants.
Businessmen have all types of role models. There’s Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Mark Cuban is one of the biggest names in the Dallas area.
Denton businessman and former University of Texas football player Bryce Cottrell is different. He points to Turtle, the loveable sidekick on the television show “Entourage” as the inspiration behind Noble Wolf Vodka. Cottrell’s budding alcohol business is based in Denton, where he is turning out a unique brand of vodka distilled from grapefruit.
Turtle, played by actor Jerry Ferrara, made his fortune through a tequila company in Cottrell’s favorite show that is based on Vince, an actor, and his band of friends.
“Turtle was a laughingstock,” said Cottrell, who played at Plano West High School. “He was Vince’s driver the whole show and ended up making his own money. If Turtle can make something out of nothing, what’s holding me back?”
Nothing, as it turns out.
A few smart decisions and a little luck led to Cottrell’s success. His first move was to explore avenues for starting an alcohol business. Tequila was out because it’s largely produced in Mexico. Friends suggested vodka as an alternative.
Cottrell went to the chemistry department at University of Texas for advice. Professors suggested a grapefruit-based product.
“I asked them what it would cost to get a recipe like that,” Cottrell said. “They all laughed and told me somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000.”
Cottrell didn’t have that kind of money and caught a break when a chemist responded to an ad he posted on Craigslist.
Five days and two meetings at Five Guys later, Cottrell paid $80 for a recipe.
Cottrell experimented before choosing the version his mother liked best. He picked the name Noble Wolf when a friend suggested it.
A Longhorns athletics official helped set up Cottrell with a distributor -- the key step in getting an alcohol brand into stores.
Cottrell chose to pursue making vodka instead of following his father’s footsteps into the NFL. Kevin Brooks played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions in the 1980s. His stepfather, Comer Cottrell, was a former part-owner of the Texas Rangers with President George W. Bush.
Bryce Cottrell chose Denton because it didn’t have a distillery and the city supports local businesses and causes. His mother came up with the motto on the bottle: “When you don’t think like everybody else, you shouldn’t drink like everybody else.”
It’s only fitting. Cottrell didn’t take the conventional route into a business he plans to continue building. Noble Wolf has whiskey, gin and rum products in the works to go along with the vodka brand. Noble Wolf comes in different flavors, including traditional, green apple, pink lemonade and peach.
Cottrell started out with Turtle as his inspiration, but his company is taking off like a rabbit in his adopted hometown.
“Denton loves its own,” Cottrell said. “I want to be a part of that community, help it grow and give back.”
For more information, go to NobleWolfVodka.com.
COTTRELL AS A LONGHORN
Bryce Cottrell spent five seasons at Texas from 2012-16. He played in 42 games and started 10 on his way to posting 53 tackles and 7.5 sacks in his career. Here is his favorite memory:
It didn’t end up counting officially, but Cottrell sacked former Oklahoma quarterback and current Cleveland Browns starter Baker Mayfield in Texas’ 24-17 win over Oklahoma in 2015. Cottrell pulled the Sooners’ great down for a 6-yard loss. The play was called back when defensive back John Bonney was called for holding a receiver.
“I have a couple of photos of that,” Cottrell said. “That was cool.”
Any win over the Sooners was special. “Even though it’s a cliché, just playing in the Texas-OU game is memorable because it’s loud the whole game. You can’t hear anything. You walk out to a bunch of boos and have stuff thrown at you. Then you go to the cheers as you run to the Texas side.
“Winning that game is by far the best feeling in the world because you have a mini party on the field for 45 minutes.”
HOW NOBLE WOLF VODKA IS MADE
Cottrell makes his grapefruit-based vodka in the same manner as traditional varieties of the spirit that can be derived from wheat, corn, rye or potatoes.
He takes grapefruit and lets it ferment for three to seven days. Another day is required to distill the resulting liquid. Distilling is the process of vaporizing a liquid, condensing it by cooling the vapor and collecting the resulting liquid. Cottrell then lets his vodka cool for another day. He makes 3,000 to 4,000 liters at a time.
Stainless steel containers must be used to make Noble Wolf due to the high acidity of grapefruit. The juice from grapefruit corrodes copper, making it impossible to use copper containers.
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