NLC pleased as punch to launch vodka from UFC legend Georges St-Pierre

On Wednesday, one of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters in the world toured the St. John's distillery where his Pur Sang vodka will be bottled. 

For the past year Georges St-Pierre and the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation have been working together to get the vodka on store shelves. 

"It was very important for me that the product was made in Canada, not anywhere else in the world," the sharply dressed St-Pierre said at the NLC's Kenmount Road distillery.

"Even though we are going to go worldwide I wanted my product to be authentic as the person I am."

The Quebec man is widely regarded as the greatest fighter in mixed martial arts history, having won titles in the welterweight and middleweight divisions, but now his focus is on promoting his new vodka. 

"When I came out with that product I want it to be premium to make sure everything that I put into my body, and my customers bodies', it's premium ingredients," he said.

Rock Spirits, the NLC-owned distillery in St. John's, will bottle and ship the new vodka brand.

"We ship to over 40 countries globally, so we have a really impressive distribution capability," said NLC president and CEO Bruce Keating.

"His standards are very high and I think that kind of led to a really good collaboration."

Landing a client with a public profile as large as St-Pierre's is a big win for the NLC, said Keating.

"It's a massive feather in the cap of Rock Spirits," he said.

"Anybody who thinks of him understands his standards of excellence, understands his dedication, so for him to go through this process and select Rock Spirits is a real credit to everyone on Rock Spirits' team."

The vodka is on NLC shelves already and is expected to roll out across Canada in the coming weeks. 

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