SCOTTISH drinks firm Pincer Vodka has signed its second large export deal of the year.
The Glasgow business has signed a five-year agreement with a distributor in Spain just months after beginning shipments to American distribution firm Double Eagle.
Madrid-based Anteo Sales & Marketing will oversee the launch of the Pincer brand initially into the trade plus in the department stores and airport outlets of retailer El Corte Ingles.
Pincer founder Jonathan Engels is shipping 360 cases, each containing six bottles, to Spain for arrival in January and believes that volume will build in 2013.
It outstrips a typical monthly sale of 120 cases in the UK where Pincer is sold in bars and in Waitrose stores in Scotland plus outlets such as Selfridges.
During next year, Mr Engels expects to sell more than double the amount of vodka in Spain than he will in the domestic market.
He said: "The Spanish contract is amazing. We are absolutely delighted with it.
"Gin has been popular in Spain for five or six years now and people are looking for other botanical spirits now.
"Anteo believes Pincer is the one and are putting a big advertising and promotion budget behind it.
"They got in touch with me and were persistent. When I looked at the Anteo website I thought it was a bit too good to be true as they have a lot of drinks industry experience behind them.
"I used the services at Scottish Development International to get a background check and then went out to Madrid.
"We managed to iron out the deal in a couple of weeks. As Anteo have an established distribution network they will be able to increase volumes rapidly."
Mr Engels, an architect prior to starting Pincer, said the business has also benefited from a recent television appearance on Channel 4 show Kirstie's Vintage Home.
The vodka, which is made with elderflower and milk thistle, was used as a cocktail for a wedding which presenter Kirstie Allsopp had helped to organise.
Mr Engels said: "We couldn't really have planned it any better to have television exposure in the weeks running up to Christmas.
"On the back of that we have had lots of emails from people interested in finding out more.
"We have expanded the website to offer a bespoke service for weddings to help couples create a cocktail for their big day."
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