In my quest to find the latest and greatest marketing trends, I stumbled upon a product that I believe will  be a runaway hit for a number of reasons - some apparent, some not quite so.

Bong Vodka

Okay, everyone say it in unison... "Thank You Captain Obvious!"

What kind of party animal doesn't have visions of vodka-filled bongs dancing through their heads?

These guys have got a winner on their hands.

Hailing from the Mecca of all things "bongish", Holland, the vodka import is not available all over the US - and I can imagine that some of the states with a more... shall we say... draconian approach to their liquor licensing will be inclined to take a pass on the product.

But I think the company has keyed in on some pretty interesting marketing fundamentals.

First of all, aside from the appeal to the environmentally conscious who will... {ahem}...  jump at the chance to recycle...  wink wink ... wherever possible, the snazzy art designs just scream at the collector market. They've recruited some serious design talent.

Of course, there's the whole subculture appeal... the snickering and winking when someone buys a bottle. Pure marketing segmentation genius.

I mean... the whole thing makes for some great niche marketing.

Now before the rumors start flying... I haven't poured myself a glass of anything heavier than the monthly pint of Flying Horse lager that I split with my wife at an area Indian food joint (joint... haha.... very punny) since probably 2005.

And even though my libertarian sensibilities are pretty tolerant of those who engage in "botanical" varieties of recreation, I haven't indulged in anything of the sort for a very, very long time.

At the risk of sounding like an old geezer... "WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE... we had to pay $80 for a Graffix bong and it didn't come filled with vodka as a bonus prize!"

But being an almost tea-totalling, fuddy duddy these days doesn't preclude my ability to see a trend and give props to the "coolness" factor when I see it.

In fact, a little Google searching will even bring up YouTube videos of some Weird Al Yankovic-looking guy that teaches viewers how to convert the bottle into something that would probably get you a couple years in jail.

I'm sensing the bastard child of Seth Godin and Malcom Gladwell all rolled up into one fat bowl of marketing goodness here.