We were lucky to catch up with Bonnie Boglioli-Randall recently and have shared our conversation below.
Bonnie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.
Together with my husband, I founded my distillery which opened its doors in the fall of 2020. Little did we know that we would soon become a true family business by welcoming our son into the fold.
With a curiosity about our new distillery and slim job prospects thanks to Covid-related hiring practices, our son and his fiance (both newly out of college) decided to assist us with our growing needs in production and sales. We asked that they give us just 6 months of their time to acquire new skills and help our business meet demand. That was three years ago and both our son and his fiance have now taken the reigns on a number of attributes of Hinterhaus.
Through trial and error and more than a few frustrations, we found early on that respecting each family member’s autonomy to do their job worked best for us and our business. It’s tempting to over-correct each other at times, but the more we each do the tasks assigned to us, the more we each grow. Respecting boundaries and not making assumptions has been crucial to working well together as a family. We want each team member of our distillery- family or otherwise- to feel encouraged to grow in their respective role with us.
Bonnie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am the co-Founder and Proprietor of Hinterhaus Distilling in Arnold, CA. We have earned international recognition for our award-winning distilled spirits including the USA’s Best Varietal Vodka (World Vodka Awards, 2024), Gin of the Year (SUNSET Magazine, 2023), and a spot in the Top American Single Malt Whiskeys (Whisky Advocate). Alongside our distilling and production facilities in Calaveras County, Hinterhaus hosts a popular tasting room and shop that welcomes visitors from around the world. I oversee the branding, marketing, and communications of Hinterhaus in addition to managing sales while growing the brand’s national distribution footprint. Prior to founding the distillery with my husband and Head Distiller Nate Randall, I worked in communications and hospitality.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Embarking on our business the week after Covid hit the U.S. (we literally signed our lease and purchased our equipment a week after the Covid 19 lockdown) put us on a committed path that absolutely required we be ready to adapt and pivot at any moment.
Throughout 2020, we ran as lean as possible. My husband|co-owner served as our general contractor during our renovations of our leased space. He and I did as much of the behind-the-scenes work that we could in preparation of our business’ grand opening. We laid flooring and painted while simultaneously getting our production going and building our new brand. And we were immensely fortunate to have friends who rolled up their sleeves with us and assisted in any way they could.
Every day during those early months was filled with different tasks. Among them was identifying the right look and feel that would represent our brand- a distillery in the California Sierra that captures the essence of the great outdoors. We had already determined our packaging when it became apparent that our state’s covid-related tasting restrictions weren’t going away anytime soon. When we opened our doors, distilleries were not allowed to offer tastings of any products. This was a tough rule to navigate for a brand new business trying to sell bottles of spirits to people who have never tried it! Working closely with an amazing graphic artist (who continues to work for us), we iterated our packaging design and spent a bit more money on an update in hopes that people would be tempted to purchase the first bottle thanks to an eye-catching design. Whether or not they came back for more was up to the quality of our spirits- and we felt as confident as could be about that.
Fortunately, our plan to amplify our packaging worked. Patrons were drawn to the aesthetic and brand story thanks to our bottles. Not only did they buy for themselves, but they purchased bottles to gift. In turn, their friends and family did the same thing. This one move to spend a little more and get our packaging ‘just right’ paid off.
Today, we have a devoted fan base of our spirits. And each of our products has garnered significant press and awards in the years that we’ve been opened. But we continue to iterate, and we aren’t afraid to dial things in whenever we feel a change is needed in order to promote our brand.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
From the get-go, we set out to create distilled spirits using time-honored techniques and production methods. But more than that, we wanted to carve our own niche in our industry. We did this by sourcing local ingredients, collaborating with nearby partners, and shining a spotlight on our neck of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
By staying true to our heritage-inspired methods while leveraging our location, we’ve been able to attract the attention of the greater distilled spirits industry. We didn’t set out to win ‘xyz’ awards, but by carefully crafting our spirits and creating unique attributes that call out to our location, we’ve done so.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hinterhausdistilling.com/
- Instagram: @HinterhausDistilling
- Facebook: @Hinterhaus Distilling
- Other: To purchase: https://www.hinterhausdistilling.com/shop
Image Credits
All photos: Hinterhaus Distilling