Tito’s Handmade Vodka: Better Spirits Make Better Drinks
How did Tito’s become the biggest-selling vodka in the US without any liquid innovation? The brand shared the story behind its success at a masterclass in Edinburgh.
Originally held in London last year, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and The Spirits Business headed to Edinburgh in June for a second iteration of a trade-exclusive masterclass: Better Spirits Make Better Drinks.
The event took place at The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh and raised £5,000 (US$6,700) for non-profit organisation Equal Measures, which works to support marginalised and underrepresented people in the drinks and hospitality industries in the UK. Two bartenders from Equal Measures – Malec Duberry and Michael Hilton – shook and stirred their own bespoke cocktails for guests using Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
Matt Brennan, commercial manager Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, travelled over from the US to host the masterclass.
“We’re made from 100% corn, which is pretty unique in the vodka world,” Brennan told a packed room of trade professionals, spanning distribution, sales, and the on-trade. “We’re distilled six times in old-fashioned pot stills – we obviously have more pot stills, and bigger ones, now. But I think up until about 2005, we were still using a 600-gallon pot still to do 30,000 cases. Now we have 5,000-gallon pot stills that we use to make our spirit.”
He continued: “When people ask me about the handmade nature of the product, in addition to putting the labels on by hand early on, the artistry comes into using those pot stills rather than just giant column stills. We have great local water in Austin [Texas, US]. It’s naturally distilled through limestone, so it has nice mineral quality.”
Navigating ‘seismic shifts’
Brennan guided guests through a comparative tasting using Tito’s and two unnamed brands, with an aim to inspire cocktail creativity and to showcase the versatility of Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
“When it comes down to creating cocktails, when you’re thinking of vodka, better spirits make better drinks,” Brennan stressed. “At Tito’s, we’re focused on doing one thing, and doing it well.” While the brand offers various formats, it does not plan on deviating from its core strategy in the future, Brennan said.
“You have probably all heard a lot of the same news I have about the spirits industry in general, and there are some who say the sky is falling – and there are certainly massive changes,” he added. “But, I’ve been doing this now for over 20 years and there have been pretty seismic shifts all along the way.
“With Tito’s, we’ve been able to maintain this singular focus through all those shifts. It’s one of those things where, when you’re in it, in the moment, it seems cataclysmic and like everything is going to change. Focusing on a singular product is one of the rare things we’ve been able to do – I think solely because we’re privately held.
“Tito Beveridge [founder] still owns 100% of the company; so, he’s like, ‘Just keep hitting that same nail with that same hammer over and over and over again’. It’s one of the things that during these different shifts and changes, we’ve just had this straight line through. When everybody else has been panicking and doing all sorts of crazy stuff, we go, ‘OK, take a deep breath, keep going forward, and just keep selling more vodka’.”
Click the video below for further insights into the masterclass from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, The Spirits Business, and guests.
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