Founder Story

My career in the hospitality and drinks industry has been a colourful one.

My career in the hospitality and drinks industry has been a colourful one. I was running The Melbourne Supper Club Wine Bar (one of Australia’s most loved and respected institutions) between 2002 and 2005. It was the wine emporium of the country where I served and tasted some of the best wines of the world. It must have been 2am one evening, when a bartender from New York said to me “Have you tried a Negroni?” We dusted off a bottle of red vermouth. The recipe was easy – I was hooked, my friends were hooked. I discovered the beauty of vermouth. It became a drink amongst friends, the type of drink that only bartenders drank. It was our industry tipple back then. I wanted to immerse myself in all things wine from then on, so I decided to join the Australian wine industry as a Key Account Manager. I studied wine, educated the trade and represented brands.  

In 2008 I was seduced by the bright lights of London and moved here permanently with my partner. I started to connect with my Greek heritage by frequently visiting my maternal island of Kos. Kos is famous for Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. Hippocrates created tonics of aromatised wine with wormwood for healing the sick – the first vermouth.

Working for the Gonzalez Byass Family (the champions of fortified wine), it brought me closer to the history, culture and production methods of fortified wine and vermouth. After spending almost 20 years in the wine and hospitality trade, I have always been fascinated by the versatility, personality, history, flavour and cultural identities that vermouths, amaros and aperitifs have to offer.

My partner and I were lucky enough to spend a year in NYC 2018/2019, exploring, tasting and soaking up the cocktail culture of downtown Manhattan. I started to fall in love with Bourbon and American Rye whiskeys. I was drinking manhattans in Manhattan (as you do) like it was going out of fashion. I was buying wonderful gins and bourbons to go into my Negronis and Manhattans. However, I was underwhelmed with most of the commercial vermouths I was buying and I felt they didn’t match the quality of the fine spirits I was mixing it with. Maybe I can create something that’s not confected, caramelised, synthetic, sickly sweet or insanely bitter. Perhaps I can create a vermouth that’s balanced, enhances cocktails, quality ingredient, delicious on its own and perfumed – something beautiful. 

- Arthur Voulgaris