When Kirk Spahn '99 co-created TY KU, a sake liqueur, for a graduate school project, he never expected the drink would develop a fan base that would include celebrity Nicky Hilton and Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx. An Asian-inspired liqueur, TY KU debuted in Las Vegas in May 2007.
Spahn originally created TY KU for a class assignment at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs that required Spahn and his partner, Trenton Scott Ulicny, to invent a "totally unique" product. The pair's professor saw great potential in their creation and encouraged them to market it.
Spahn, a history major with a particular interest in Japanese culture, traced many of his ideas for TY KU back to his days as a student at Dartmouth. During a leave term, Spahn learned the importance of drinking traditions to Asian culture and sampled sake, opium wine,and various teas as he travelled through China, Tibet and Japan with a program headed by the New York Museum of Natural History.
"In Asia, drinking rituals signify different things, from health to celebration to going to war," Spahn said. "This definitely served as inspiration for creating TY KU."
According to Spahn, Dartmouth also influenced the product design for TY KU.
"I knew that the drink absolutely had to be green," Spahn said.
TY KU's green color also reflects the healthy ingredients of which it is made. The drink is naturally sweetened with what Spahn calls "Oprah super-foods."
TY KU is made of sake and soju -- a vodka popular in Japan and Korea. It also includes teas and fruit extracts such as yuzu, pomegranate and prickly pear, according to TY KU sales representative Amanda Feinberg '07.
In juxtaposition to its traditional ingredients, TY KU's packaging is contemporary, with an Asian minimalist flare.
"Our mantra is, 'Respect tradition, but embrace tomorrow,'" Spahn said.
The drink comes in a sleek bottle featuring an LED light that, due to a patented motion detector, illuminates when the drink is poured.
TY KU's original design was partly an outcome of Spahn's experience working for famed music producer Clive Davis. While attending album release parties, Spahn noticed that consumers wanted to show off their expensive bottles of alcohol, so bartenders attempted to light the bottles using ineffective methods, such as glow sticks. Incorporating an LED light within the bottle proved more effective, Spahn said.
Spahn used his connections in the music industry to advertise TY KU, landing bottles of his liqueur on the shelves of clubs and restaurants in Las Vegas and New York.
Spahn's Dartmouth connections, he said, proved equally integral to his success. Spahn found advertising firms and investors through the Dartmouth Club and Career Services.
"There's a commonality among Dartmouth students," Spahn said. "More or less, we all have a similar Dartmouth experience, which makes alumni approachable and easy to work with. Alumni genuinely like to see people do well. The Dartmouth network has been a tremendous support."
