This week on The Drinks Entrepreneur Podcast, I’m joined by Frank Grillo, founder of Altamura Distilleries, and this is a brilliant story of how a chance idea became a premium Italian vodka now being poured around the world.
It all started with Frank baking a loaf of Pane di Altamura in his kitchen in Atlanta, using the ancient durum wheat grown around Altamura in Puglia.
One thought followed:
“If you boil that, it would have been a bottle of vodka.”
And that was the beginning. 🥃
In this episode, we talk about:
🌾 The 2,000-year-old wheat behind Altamura Vodka, and why its provenance and terroir make it so distinctive
💡 How a completely accidental idea turned into Frank's first entrepreneurial venture
🇮🇹 Moving from the US to Italy, and discovering the realities of trying to build a drinks business there
🤝 Why convincing the local wheat-growing family to let him distil their prized grain felt like “asking for a daughter’s hand in marriage”
🍸 How relationships with some of the world’s leading bartenders and cocktail bars transformed the trajectory of the brand
🚀 Going from a small Italian launch to distribution across 20+ countries and 25 US states
🏨 Breaking into luxury hospitality and seeing Altamura behind the bars of some of the world's most prestigious hotels
🎯 Why Frank believes a great liquid is only the starting point, and that every successful drinks brand needs a story people can genuinely connect with
🦁 The story behind Altamura's lion, and the brand's growing relationship with the Born Free Foundation
🍹 And Frank's wonderfully Italian approach to entrepreneurial frustration:
\"Get one thing done before lunch. If you can't? Have a Negroni and try again tomorrow!\"
This is a fantastic conversation about provenance, storytelling, taking chances, navigating rapid growth and building a global drinks brand from an idea that almost happened by accident.
🎙️ Frank Grillo | Altamura Distilleries
Coming Friday on The Drinks Entrepreneur Podcast.
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