ABOUT/HOW IT WORKS     HISTORY/DEVELOPMENT     INSTRUCTIONS/CARE     ORDERING/CONTACT

 

History/Development

It was such a unique experience that I wanted to share this with friends. Since I didn’t have a sauna, I asked my dad, an engineer, to help with the development of the Vaportini. We went to American Science and Surplus and bought beakers, thermometers, and anything else that might assist in our Endeavour. We spent several interesting afternoons testing the best temperature for alcohol to evaporate from spirits. We also explored several ways to achieve and sustain that optimal temperate. This lead to research in the heat density of many substances, diamonds have the highest heat density, but completely impractical. We settled on lead, but it had to be protected from human contact, for obvious reasons. I found a hollow stainless steel base that could be filled with lead. I worked with a local metal worker to fill them. The purchased glass vessels were modified, creating an air intake close to the surface of the spirits, insertion of a straw to inhale the evaporated alcohol, and insuring a close contact of the base to the glass vessel. I heated the bases in a small oven, filled the vessel with liquor, and placed it in the base. Within 5 minutes, the alcohol had evaporated from the spirits and was ready to inhale. A similar “sauna” experience was created.

I launched the Vaportini at Red Kiva in 2010 to great success. The guests were excited to consume alcohol in a completely unique way. Red Kiva started with 1 night per week and quickly received requests for additional nights, and private parties. At that point, Vaportinis were so labor intensive in that the base had to be heated and guests had to be instructed as to how to enjoy Vaportinis, that I felt that I had to be there to assist people through the experience. It can be a bit intimidating at first because of the novel approach to the consumption of alcohol. What I didn’t realize at the time is that this is such a natural process, guests can figure it out on their own. Currently, the device has been modified to eliminate the oven and the lead filled base.


The final evolution of the Vaportini has taken the design to it’s essential elements creating something that is simple, elegant, practical, and affordable while retaining its revolutionary nature. Stainless steel Vaportini rings have been manufactured that fit on any standard pint glass. The heat source is a small candle that is placed in the bottom of the pint glass, the glass globe, containing the spirits, sits on the Vaportini ring. The heat from the candle provides a quick and consistent warming of the spirits. The globe

never reaches a temperature over 140F, which is still quite comfortable to hold. By using a standard pint glass (not included) as the base, the cost to the consumer has been reduced. The Vaportini kit includes; the Vaportini ring, the Vaportini globe, a small funnel for adding spirits to the globe, a candle, straws, and instructions.