When we say ‘Let’s Roar’, we really mean it,” said Frank Grillo, co-founder, Altamura Distilleries. “This partnership is about more than fundraising. It is about using our voice, our craft, and our global community to help safeguard the natural world for future generations.”  The collaboration unites two organizations separated by geography but connected by a powerful shared emblem: the lion.

For Altamura Distilleries, the lioness is woven into the very fabric of its homeland. The historic emblem of the city of Altamura in Puglia features a lioness that has stood guard over the region’s coat of arms and stone architecture for centuries—a protector of the land and its famed wheat fields from which the vodka is crafted.

For Born Free, the lion represents Elsa, the orphaned lion cub whose story captivated the world in the 1966 film Born Free. The movie’s stars, Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, went on to found the charity, dedicating their lives to ensuring wild animals can live with dignity and protection. The lion in Born Free’s logo is Elsa herself.

This shared symbolism forms the foundation of a partnership built on purpose. Altamura Distilleries will introduce a series of commitments supporting Born Free’s mission, including a corporate donation to rescue and conservation programmes, a global calendar of fundraising events engaging the hospitality community, and a dedicated cocktail bar at the Born Free Gala in London this March, serving signature drinks inspired by the landscapes and species the charity protects.

Molly Rutherford, corporate partnerships manager at Born Free, welcomed the collaboration: “The connection between Born Free and the distillery, through the symbolism of the lion, is a powerful and authentic foundation.

Their commitment will make a tangible difference to the lives of wild animals in need.” A partnership that offers a compelling proposition: craftsmanship with conscience. Each bottle of Altamura Distilleries Vodka—crafted exclusively from 100 percent Italian Altamura wheat and recently named in Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Spirits with a 94-point score—contributes to conservation impact.

They say our associations reflect our truest selves. And so, in an era of unprecedented peril for global wildlife, two lionesses find their voices together—one, an ancient sentinel carved in stone; the other, a modern heroine whose story moved the world. Now, they roar as one.

photography by George Logan