With a family distillation lineage that can trace its history back more than a century to a home-made still built in 1899, CEO Miguel Vidal decided to take the business in a new direction from the family enterprise when he founded Bulk, Wine & Spirits. Navigating supply and demand across a wide range of spirit categories, his company connects buyers to spirits producers from around the world, whether it be American bourbon distillers or Caribbean Rum makers.
iguel’s success with his company began, paradoxically, with a major personal setback. Following a work accident during which he broke his ankle. Subsequently, he decided to go in his own direction and established Bulk, Wine & Spirits a decade ago.
Drawing on Miguel’s vast professional expertise, the company has settled into a unique niche. BW&S neither makes nor produces its own spirits, nor does it buy or sell them. Instead, Miguel and his team have created a company of facilitation services, with a prior tailor-made study, that enables clients to find and buy the product according to their needs, so that they can obtain and have access to beverages according to their specifications, both physical-chemical and organoleptic that each one seeks according to their criteria.
The team’s goal is to make the purchase of the best spirits easy for its customers, regardless of where in the world they may be located, whether in the United States, Europe, Canada etc. “We make sure we can offer products that not only taste well, but that also help to fulfil the necessary legal criteria by conducting all the necessary audits and quality-control checks which can really provide a lot of headaches,” he explains. All this being based on his experience of almost 30 years in the sector.
Miguel likes to joke that the alcohol trade runs in his blood – a genetic legacy that began with his great-grandfather who built a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ still and used it to start producing spirits. His son – Miguel’s grandfather – then took it on himself to help transform this boutique operation into a vibrant family business, Bodegas y Destilerías Vidal, that still produces many kinds of wines and spirits.
Through his work at Bodegas y Destilerías Vidal, which produces tens of millions of bottles of liquor a year, Miguel found the most appropriate opportunity to learn the secrets of running a spirit business. After studying oenology, distillation and marketing, he started in the family firm at the bottom of the business, because his father wanted him to understand all the fine details of the company’s operations. Eventually, he rose to the position of technical director, a post that he held for 17 years. During this time, Miguel handled the purchases of all feedstock with the import of alcohols and other distillates. Due to his passion as an oenologist, he carried out the R+D+I developing the drinks that the clients requested or that were in fashion at the time, he managed the excise duties of the company, not an easy task at all.
This experience in the ‘belly of the beast’ of the industry, gave him the background he needed to start BW&S. Today, he is proud to still be a partner/shareholder in his family’s firm in addition to its being his roots, explains Miguel.
BW&S is able to source any spirits produced across the world, whether it be American bourbon, Scotch whisky, Irish whisky, rums, brandy or any spirit categories. The team handles every aspect of the complicated export and import logistics that are involved, and Miguel is proud to be a facilitator and connector in the supply chain.
Miguel did not start with a focus on spirits. Like his family business, BW&S initially focused more on wine. However, he has slowly turned towards the spirits industry because of his passion for distillates, reflecting the demand in a world where – unlike the established practises– demand for certain spirits comes and goes, dependent on trends that can be mercurial and difficult to predict. “Our current mission in the company is to position ourselves in the Premium and super Premium market of distillates- really great products that we can offer our clients”, Miguel explains.
This flexibility in approach enables Miguel to focus on spirits in high demand. From the beginning, bourbon has been the focus of most of his business, allowing the company to grow. While his portfolio of spirits is an exhaustive one as you can check in his webpage www.bulkwineandspirits.com, including not only whisky, but also rums of almost any origin and style as (Hispanic, British, French…), brandy and other alcohol derivatives such as molasses and sugarcane alcohol.
“We keep growing. We are on the prowl for new market strategies, distilleries and spirits with whom we can work, with a particular focus on an emerging Asian market,” explains Miguel.
The company’s emphasis on streamlined quality control ensures that both suppliers and customers alike can do business quickly and effectively. The team at BW&S pride themselves on anticipating the market requirements. Moreover, BW&S audits and approves partner suppliers through quality systems including IFS, BRC and even Kosher certification.
Given the reality that the spirits market is global in nature, BW&S helps producers and sellers move past the countless obstacles that arise when trying to conduct business across borders and multiple categories of spirit production. Creating connections, facilitating logistics, and maintaining quality control are the actions that the company does best, liberating partner distilleries, manufacturers and customers to keep their eyes on The prize of what they do best themselves: create and sell the best distillates possible.
Miguel firmly believes that, by working in this way, everybody wins and everybody reaps the benefits. “Because we connect buyers and sellers together, without purchasing products ourselves, working with us is much simpler and cheaper than many companies offering similar services”.
iguel’s success with his company began, paradoxically, with a major personal setback. Following a work accident during which he broke his ankle. Subsequently, he decided to go in his own direction and established Bulk, Wine & Spirits a decade ago.
Drawing on Miguel’s vast professional expertise, the company has settled into a unique niche. BW&S neither makes nor produces its own spirits, nor does it buy or sell them. Instead, Miguel and his team have created a company of facilitation services, with a prior tailor-made study, that enables clients to find and buy the product according to their needs, so that they can obtain and have access to beverages according to their specifications, both physical-chemical and organoleptic that each one seeks according to their criteria.
The team’s goal is to make the purchase of the best spirits easy for its customers, regardless of where in the world they may be located, whether in the United States, Europe, Canada etc. “We make sure we can offer products that not only taste well, but that also help to fulfil the necessary legal criteria by conducting all the necessary audits and quality-control checks which can really provide a lot of headaches,” he explains. All this being based on his experience of almost 30 years in the sector.
Miguel Vidal
Miguel likes to joke that the alcohol trade runs in his blood – a genetic legacy that began with his great-grandfather who built a ‘Do-It-Yourself’ still and used it to start producing spirits. His son – Miguel’s grandfather – then took it on himself to help transform this boutique operation into a vibrant family business, Bodegas y Destilerías Vidal, that still produces many kinds of wines and spirits.
Through his work at Bodegas y Destilerías Vidal, which produces tens of millions of bottles of liquor a year, Miguel found the most appropriate opportunity to learn the secrets of running a spirit business. After studying oenology, distillation and marketing, he started in the family firm at the bottom of the business, because his father wanted him to understand all the fine details of the company’s operations. Eventually, he rose to the position of technical director, a post that he held for 17 years. During this time, Miguel handled the purchases of all feedstock with the import of alcohols and other distillates. Due to his passion as an oenologist, he carried out the R+D+I developing the drinks that the clients requested or that were in fashion at the time, he managed the excise duties of the company, not an easy task at all.
This experience in the ‘belly of the beast’ of the industry, gave him the background he needed to start BW&S. Today, he is proud to still be a partner/shareholder in his family’s firm in addition to its being his roots, explains Miguel.
BW&S is able to source any spirits produced across the world, whether it be American bourbon, Scotch whisky, Irish whisky, rums, brandy or any spirit categories. The team handles every aspect of the complicated export and import logistics that are involved, and Miguel is proud to be a facilitator and connector in the supply chain.
Miguel and his team
Miguel did not start with a focus on spirits. Like his family business, BW&S initially focused more on wine. However, he has slowly turned towards the spirits industry because of his passion for distillates, reflecting the demand in a world where – unlike the established practises– demand for certain spirits comes and goes, dependent on trends that can be mercurial and difficult to predict. “Our current mission in the company is to position ourselves in the Premium and super Premium market of distillates- really great products that we can offer our clients”, Miguel explains.
This flexibility in approach enables Miguel to focus on spirits in high demand. From the beginning, bourbon has been the focus of most of his business, allowing the company to grow. While his portfolio of spirits is an exhaustive one as you can check in his webpage www.bulkwineandspirits.com, including not only whisky, but also rums of almost any origin and style as (Hispanic, British, French…), brandy and other alcohol derivatives such as molasses and sugarcane alcohol.
“We keep growing. We are on the prowl for new market strategies, distilleries and spirits with whom we can work, with a particular focus on an emerging Asian market,” explains Miguel.
The company’s emphasis on streamlined quality control ensures that both suppliers and customers alike can do business quickly and effectively. The team at BW&S pride themselves on anticipating the market requirements. Moreover, BW&S audits and approves partner suppliers through quality systems including IFS, BRC and even Kosher certification.
Given the reality that the spirits market is global in nature, BW&S helps producers and sellers move past the countless obstacles that arise when trying to conduct business across borders and multiple categories of spirit production. Creating connections, facilitating logistics, and maintaining quality control are the actions that the company does best, liberating partner distilleries, manufacturers and customers to keep their eyes on The prize of what they do best themselves: create and sell the best distillates possible.
Miguel firmly believes that, by working in this way, everybody wins and everybody reaps the benefits. “Because we connect buyers and sellers together, without purchasing products ourselves, working with us is much simpler and cheaper than many companies offering similar services”.
