Modestan's vodka catches drinkers' spirit

Cold House Vodka is getting hot.

The locally produced ultra-premium vodka by one-man-distiller Lee Palleschi will soon be available on shelves in Save Mart Supermarkets around the Central Valley. The handcrafted vodka is also being poured at more area bars.

"The locally owned businesses have really accepted me and embraced Cold House Vodka," Palleschi said. "I'm a little guy and I'm learning. I think it's been going really well."

Since Cold House Vodka produced its first batch in May, the boutique distillery has expanded to most of the downtown Modesto nightclubs and bars. Palleschi has added Firkin & Fox, Clayton's, Bacchus, Tresetti's World Caffe, Vito's Restaurante, Del Rio Country Club, Tommy's Beach Bar in Manteca and the Ripon Roadhouse.

By next Wednesday the bottles should be on the shelves at area Save Mart stores including the Oakdale and Scenic, Dale Road and H Street locations. It also will be in stores in Riverbank, Oakdale, Sacramento and Stockton.

Palleschi has even picked up a local celebrity endorsement. The popular area rock rappers Moonshine Bandits have teamed up to endorse Cold House Vodka on their tour and at the band's X-Fest performance Aug. 7. Vodka bottles will feature a "Moonshine Bandits approved" seal, and Palleschi will hold a tasting at the downtown music festival.

"They're a local band and I'm a local guy," Palleschi said. "They've tried it out and like it so much they want to endorse it. So they're endorsing me and I'm endorsing them."

Cold House will be featured at a booth at the Sierra View Music Festival in Oakdale on Aug. 14.

Palleschi is now working on his fifth batch of Cold House. The first two batches, almost 400 bottles, have sold out. Up next will be gin, which he plans to start distilling soon, as well as other specialty spirits.

For more, go to www.coldhousevodka.com.

Elsewhere around the Business Beat:

Grab a quick, fresh, custom-made meal at the new GK Mongolian Barbecue.

The location is the fourth in a local chain by Stockton restaurateur Matt Shih. It has two places in Stockton and one in Tracy.

The restaurant follows the popular Mongolian barbecue theme, where customers pick out what meats, noodles, vegetables and sauces they want and then have their dish cooked in from of them. The Modesto location features the signature large round grill. Shih said it his largest restaurant so far, seating about 85.

It is open for lunch and dinner every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more visit at 1300 Sylvan Ave. or call 566-9778.

Have an item for Business Beat? Contact Marijke Rowland at The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto 95352; 578-2284 or mrowland@modbee.com.