(Note: This story appears in the July 2021 issue of ED Magazine)
With its patented distilling process, SIN Ultra Premium Vodka aims to become the gentlemen’s club industry’s most delicious vice.
RW Waskom isn’t repenting — he’s a serial entrepreneur. There’s his coffee company, VITAL Brew, which features coffee with amino acids infused into it. He also owns a solar panel company, manufacturing company, a battery company, deer feeder company, Amazon company and a communications line company.
“I love starting companies and getting things rolling,” says Waskom.
He gets a devilish grin when discussing his latest endeavor, which has seen Waskom take over ownership of SIN Ultra Premium Vodka. SIN was originally started in 2014 by George Dipp Jr., a Texan whose love of Las Vegas — aka Sin City — was reflected in the vodka’s name and design.
“The ultimate goal in selling liquor is to be in the adult entertainment industry in Sin City,” says Waskom. And SIN was well on its way, claiming the 2015 Double Gold Medal Award in San Francisco Wine and Spirits.
Waskom met Dipp through aviation — they’re both pilots — and SIN piqued Waskom’s interest.
“I found out about the vodka company, got really interested in it, and did a little research on it,” recalls Waskom, who was already underway with VITAL Brew. “I just thought about expanding my beverages and thought it was a perfect time to get into the liquor business.”
So, in February 2021, Waskom took over SIN with a silent partner, despite no experience with retail alcohol. And though it’s been a trial by fire of sorts, in terms of selling and distributing premium vodka, good luck prying SIN out of his hands now.
“It would take a lot of money to make me sell this company because I truly love what I’m doing,” says Waskom.
The best-tasting vodka I’ve ever had
It’s a simple enough question: “Do you want a taste?” Waskom was a bit skeptical; I mean, was this really “the best vodka”? An incredibly bold claim. Because, really, doesn’t every major vodka company claim to have the best-tasting vodka?
But Dipp convinced Waskom without the typical sales pitch. “I’m not just saying [it’s the best] because I have the vodka, or because it’s for sale. I’m just telling you now, this sh*t’s good.”
And just like that, Waskom was sold.
“Literally from the moment I took a bottle and made a straight vodka and ice, I went, ‘This IS the best-tasting sh*t I’ve ever had,’” says Waskom.
Intrigued by how vodka could come out so devilishly satisfying, Waskom learned SIN is distilled six times, coupled with a patented Terrepure process which reminded him of his college days when he and some friends designed heavy oil activators that took heavy crude oil and converted it into light, sweet crude oil.
“When they described the Terrepure process they use on this vodka, man, it was almost exactly what we designed for oil,” says Waskom, who hasn’t changed a thing with SIN’s distilling process or recipe. “That’s why with SIN Vodka, you don’t get that rubbing alcohol aftertaste. That’s the key to our vodka tasting so good. The Terrepure process allows us to have a premium taste at a mid-level cost.”
But as divine as SIN was, Dipp had planned to keep it a party secret in Texas. Waskom, however, could not abide.
“He didn’t have dreams of competing with Tito’s or Grey Goose,” says Waskom. “He didn’t have dreams to be on every bar and every shop. Man, I want to be in every location there is. I want to be in every bar, every restaurant, every hotel, every industry. I want to be everywhere, which is the reason the first industry that I’m attacking is the adult entertainment industry.”
“I want to be in every location there is. I want to be in every bar, every restaurant, every hotel, every industry. I want to be everywhere, which is the reason the first industry that I’m aiming for is the adult entertainment industry.” — RW Waskom
Winning the blind taste test every time
Some days, it must seem like Waskom is living Johnny Cash’s song “I’ve Been Everywhere.” For this particular interview even, he has just touched down in Destin, Florida — a mix of business and vacation. He’s with his family, but at night, he’ll go on the prowl, looking to spread the SIN gospel to any gentlemen’s club with open ears and vodka-swilling patrons.
He’s familiar with the usual vodka suspects — Belvedere, Ketel One, Tito’s, Grey Goose — and when Waskom spots a brand-loyalist vodka drinker, he already has a bet in mind: a blind taste test involving SIN and the to-be-vanquished contender. If the customer isn’t convinced, Waskom will buy that customer’s drink. But, if SIN comes out on top, that person has to drink SIN the rest of the night.
“I always win if I get them to do that,” he says of his grain-based vodka. “I either do that, or I will just talk them into buying them a drink. ‘And you tell me, straight up if you don’t like it, I’ll leave you alone.’ All I have to do is get them to taste it. If they just taste it, they can taste the difference between my vodka and any other vodka they’re going to taste. That’s the number-one hurdle, getting people just to taste it. But once I get that done, I got a customer forever.”
If Waskom and SIN plan to disrupt the vodka market in the gentlemen’s club industry, the first Gentlemen’s Club EXPO following a generational pandemic seemed like a proper place to start. There — rubbing elbows and shooting the breeze with industry veterans, other entrepreneurs and, of course, a slew of club owners and executives — Waskom was on a mission to cast SIN.
“I think my favorite moment was getting the opportunity to talk to all of the people in this industry at the booth and just letting them hear my story about why I’m there,” says Waskom about his first EXPO. “You know, we’re the new guys on the block and nobody’s ever heard of us.”
It seems SIN’s reputation is about to proceed it, as it creeps into more and more markets. Presently, SIN is available in six states: California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, and Texas (where it originated) with ongoing plans for distribution in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina. And, as Waskom points out, this is just the beginning.
“We’re looking to expand in any state,” declares Waskom. “Anybody that wants to carry SIN Vodka can contact me and I will have my team work it out to make sure we’re carried in your state. My true goal is to be the premier vodka in the adult entertainment industry.”
For more information, visit sinultravodka.com or call (725) 215-8405.
Signature SIN Vodka cocktails
SIN BIKINI MARTINI
-1 OZ SIN PREMIUM VODKA
-1 FLUID OUNCE COCONUT RUM
-1 FLUID OUNCE PINEAPPLE JUICE
-1 DASH GRENADINE SYRUP
Shake firmly until frothy. Pour in a martini glass, add a touch of grenadine in the middle. Garnish with an orange wheel.
SEXY SIN
-1 CUP ICE CUBES
-2 FLUID OUNCES VODKA
-3 OZ CRANBERRY JUICE
-2 OZ ORANGE JUICE
Pour, stir and serve in a tall glass with ice.
FAST SIN
-1 SHOT VODKA
-1 SHOT PEACH SCHNAPPS
-3 OZ CRANBERRY JUICE
-3 OZ PINEAPPLE
Pour, stir and serve in a tall glass with ice.
