We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful SEBASTIAN GOMEZ CAMORINO. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with SEBASTIAN below.

Hi SEBASTIAN, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I wanted to create an alcoholic spirit that captured the Spirit of Patagonia; sustainably, respectfully, authentically and uniquely. That spirit is TRÄKÁL.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I had worked in Diageo in a brand and territory management capacity before I got the idea to open a distillery in Patagonia. Just a few years later, we produced our first product: TRÄKÁL, a Patagonian Spirit.

Through my experience in the spirits industry, I realized that so many products were made in generic distilleries with ingredients shipped from all over the world. I wanted to build a distillery in Patagonia, where we could work with the incredible cornucopia of ingredients found here – apples, pears, quince, native herbs like tepa, and berries such as maqui. We built the distillery from the ground up, with all its equipment (including the stills) designed and locally built by us.

All this makes us different. Patagonia itself is unique, and so are the people who live here. This makes us a singular player in the industry.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

No, this was not a side hustle or anything like that. I had a vision to create a spirit that would capture the essence of Patagonia, and I set out to discover the right process, ingredients, and equipment necessary to do so. At the beginning of this project, I did not have a recipe for the product or even an idea of what flavors I would discover in Patagonia. It all came through the process of working with the ingredients.

This was about answering the question; why isn’t there a spirit that captures the flavors of Patagonia? It was a matter of better understanding the place, its history and its people.

The key milestones were the following;

– Move to the Chilean Patagonia
– Approach and build the trust of the locals, both indigenous and the general population
– Really understand the native ingredients that could be used to makes spirits
– Make consistent samples
– Build the first distillery in Patagonia
– Develop one flagship product, which would later be named TRÄKÁL by some of our community partners. TRÄKÁL means first warrior into battle in Mapuche.
– Get a unique TTB category description and approval for TRÄKÁL
– Find distribution in Chile and in Colorado, the first state where we were in the United States
– Spread the word about TRÄKÁL, and create a community of people who love it as much as we do

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The Meditations – Marcus Aurelius How to Get US Market Ready Wines and Spirits – Steve Raye
Building Strong Brands – David Aaker

Contact Info:

• Website: www.trakal.com
• Instagram: drinktrakal
• Facebook: Sebastian Gomez Camorino
• Linkedin: Sebastian Gomez Camorino
• Other: www.shoptrakal.com

Image Credits
Images SGC Destilados SA