BORU VODKA ANNOUNCES "DEFEND THE BAR BAND" SEMIFINALISTS

15 Indie Bands Move on to the Next Round

"Defend the Fan" Sweepstakes Starts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 12, 2008, New York, NY – Castle Brands Inc. (AMEX: ROX), an emerging international spirits company, today announced the Top 15 semifinalists in its second annual Boru Vodka "Defend the Bar Band" contest. Over 800 bands representing 47 states and a wide variety of musical styles entered this year's competition—Boru's bid to find the most authentic, direct and passionate bar band in the country. The fifteen shortlisted bands will be featured on the dedicated Boru Vodka "Defend the Bar Band" website (www.borubarband.com) as they compete for the opportunity to win a professionally produced, shot and edited live performance video as well as $10,000 of new musical equipment. 

The semifinal round of the "Defend the Bar Band" program launches September 15, and the competition is about to get fierce as the fate of the fifteen bands will now be determined by fans and music lovers. Boru Vodka encourages music fans to visit www.borubarband.com, listen to the artists, download the music of the Top 15 for free and cast their vote. By voting, fans are automatically entered into the "Defend the Fan" sweepstakes with a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000.  Real time, on-line voting results will keep the action alive for both bands and fans.

The four bands receiving the greatest number of votes in the semifinal round will move on to the final round in the competition.  A combination of consumer voting and industry panel judges will determine which finalist will become Boru's ultimate bar band for 2008.  The winning band and the winner of the "Defend the Fan" sweepstakes will be announced in early November.

"The authentic, no-nonsense Boru Vodka brand has a natural affinity with the indie music community, and last year's contest made a significant mark in that community, a real footprint," said ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Roseann Sessa, Vice President Marketing & Public Relations for Castle Brands. "That momentum, coupled with an additional boost offered by our partners has produced outstanding results for this year's contest—a larger footprint and a richer brand experience for a greater number of participants. The talent represented by these artists is just extraordinary. I am certain that many of these musicians will become top-selling artists in the future, and I wish them the best of luck in the contest." 

The 15 semifinalist bands are:

Claudette Miller & the Tenry Johns Band           Chicago, IL

EkoTren                                                      Fort Myers, FL

Faktion                                                         Denton, TX

Gina Cutillo                                                   Coram, NY

Jonny the Saint & the Velvet Hand                   Hurst, TX

Kevin Behan                                                  Secaucus, NJ

Liz Williams                                                   Dallas, TX

Luck Brothers                                                Philadelphia, PA

Smoke E. Digglera                                         Louisville, KY

Strike the Sun                                               Kilgore, TX

Styrofoam Junkies                                         West Hempstead, NY

Telling on Trixie                                            New York, NY

The Love Blisters                                           Phoenix, AZ

The Second Advance                                      Danbury, CT

Whirl                                                            Hackensack, NJ

More about Boru Vodka

Boru Vodka is made in Ireland from the best grain and most pristine water.  The five times distillation process produces a clean vodka of unusual clarity and exceptional smoothness.  It is named for the legendary king responsible for uniting Ireland, Brian Boru.  Boru Vodka is also available in Citrus, Orange and Crazzberry flavors.  Boru Vodka is available nationwide in the United States and Ireland and in a growing number of other international markets.   www.boru.com

More about the "Defend the Bar Band" Program

The Boru Vodka "Defend the Bar Band" campaign is a multi-tiered program designed to build brand awareness.  The program was developed to find and reward the ultimate bar band.  Now in its second year, the virtual battle of the bands targets Boru's core audience, the socially active 21 – 30 year old music fans.   In addition to the viral marketing component, the program is supported with on line advertising, local print advertising and on-premise promotions.  Partners in the program are Digital Cafe Tour (www.digitalcafetour.com) and ReverbNation (www.reverbnation.com) .  

More about Castle Brands Inc.

Castle Brands is an emerging developer and international marketer of premium branded spirits within four growing categories of the spirits industry: vodka, rum, whiskey and liqueurs.  Castle Brands' portfolio includes Boru^® Vodka, Gosling's Rum^®, Sea Wynde^® Rum, Knappogue Castle Whiskey^®, Clontarf^® Irish Whiskey, Jefferson's™ and Jefferson's Reserve^® Bourbon, Sam Houston^® Bourbon, Tierras Tequila, Celtic Crossing^® Liqueur, Pallini^® Limoncello™, Raspicello™ and Peachcello™ and Brady's^® Irish Cream.  www.castlebrandsinc.com  (ROX-G)