How Do You Build a Premium Vodka Brand in 2026? | Altamura Distilleries

What if you took 2,000 years of Italian history… and turned it into vodka?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 DistilleriesComing Friday on The Drinks Entrepreneur Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.