Skyy
The Glenmore Distillery, Sazerac Distillers, LLC — Owensboro, KY
New York
A second y turned Sky into Skyy after San Francisco's blue sky inspired Maurice Kanbar, Nob Hill Gazette recounts. Read the brand history
Jump to: Brand history · Labels · At a Glance · Producers · Sources
| Label Name | Spirit Type | Status | Approval Date | Producer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Skyy VODKA 80-89 PROOF | Vodka 80-89 Proof | Approved | 2025-03-25 | The Glenmore Distillery, Sazerac Distillers, LLC |
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Skyy at a Glance
Skyy has 1 distinct product with 3 total TTB label approvals, including Vodka 80-89 Proof. Labels approved between 2020-02-27 and 2025-03-25. Label origins on file: New York.
At a Glance data sourced from public TTB records.
Skyy Vodka: A San Francisco Inventor's Brand and Its Label Origins on File
Maurice Kanbar enjoyed a martini but too often awoke with a headache, and when his doctor blamed congeners he set out to create one of the purest vodkas, Nob Hill Gazette recounts. He personally hawked the cobalt blue bottle from his scooter at local markets, the Gazette says.
How Skyy Vodka began in San Francisco
SKYY Vodka was born in San Francisco in 1992, the brand's website says. Kanbar had moved from New York to San Francisco in 1984, according to Nob Hill Gazette. He planned to call the vodka Prince Romanov Vodka but suspected the name was too grand, the Gazette adds. Kanbar died at his home in San Francisco at the age of 93, Legacy.com records.
How Skyy is distilled and filtered
The brand's history timeline credits the San Francisco-based inventor with introducing SKYY as the first quadruple-distilled and triple-filtered vodka on the market. That filtration runs through California limestone, and the result is gluten-free, SKYY's production page says. In 2021 the timeline records a brand refresh with a twist to the liquid and a pack design paying homage to the blue bottle. The vodka is now made with water enriched with Pacific Minerals from the coastal waters around the city, the same entry says.
Awards, a cinema campaign, and the 2008 flavor reset
Under 1996, SKYY's timeline lists its first Hot Brand Award from Market Watch Magazine and says the award continued for 10 consecutive years. Under 1998 it lists an ad campaign featuring pop culture icons under the heading SKYY Cinema Campaign. In 2008 SKYY discontinued its flavour line and launched SKYY Infusions, which the timeline describes as featuring real, true-to-fruit flavours.
Who files for Skyy and where it says it is made
SKYY describes itself as American-made vodka on its website. Wild Turkey Distillery (Campari America LLC) of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky filed in February 2020, The Glenmore Distillery (Sazerac Distillers, LLC) of Owensboro, Kentucky filed in October 2020, and United States Distilled Products Co. of Princeton, Minnesota filed in March 2025. Each one lists New York as the label origin on file in the BUY.VODKA TTB snapshot. Explore the TTB label data for Skyy on this page.
Sources
- SKYY Vodka (skyyvodka.com). “Explore SKYY Vodka | Skyy Vodka.” Undated. https://www.skyyvodka.com/
- Nob Hill Gazette. “The Boundless Success of San Francisco Inventor Maurice Kanbar.” Undated (In Memoriam, after August 2022). https://www.nobhillgazette.com/people/in_memoriam/the-boundless-success-of-san-francisco-inventor-maurice-kanbar/article_f777d044-3449-11ed-a5cd-67fedf9c7bde.html
- SKYY Vodka (skyyvodka.com). “Our history | Skyy Vodka.” Undated. https://www.skyyvodka.com/en/our-history
- Legacy.com (via obits.gazette.com). “Maurice Kanbar (1929 to 2022), creator of Skyy Vodka and the sweater defuzzer.” Undated. https://obits.gazette.com/news/maurice-kanbar-1929-2022-creator-of-skyy-vodka-and-the-sweater-defuzzer
- SKYY Vodka (skyyvodka.com). “How and where is SKYY Vodka made | Skyy Vodka.” Undated. https://www.skyyvodka.com/en/production
- TTB Public COLA Registry via BUY.VODKA data snapshot (src/data/labels.json, local build 16 October 2026). “Skyy” label approvals. Local read-only query, 16 October 2026.
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