101 Gins to Try Before You Die by Ian Buxton

Author:Ian Buxton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Birlinn

48

GIN MARE

BRAND OWNER:

Giró Ribot & Global Premium Brands, SA

DISTILLERY:

Destilerías Miquel Guansé, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain

WEBSITE:

www.ginmare.com

VISITOR CENTRE:

No

AVAILABILITY:

Specialists

OTHER VARIANTS:

None

‘Mundus appellatur caelum, terra et mare’, the Latin for ‘the world is called heaven, earth and sea’ (possibly a reference to the work of the seventh-century saint Isidore, Archbishop of Seville, whose collection of ancient texts greatly influenced the late medieval church) is to be found on a stained-glass window in a former chapel in the little seaside town of Vilanova i la Geltrú on Spain’s Costa Gourada. So what, you may ask.

It also appears on the rather striking bottle of Gin Mare – Sea Gin – which today is made in said former chapel. Imagine, a chapel dedicated to gin with the still placed dramatically where the altar once stood: truly they take their gin with an almost religious devotion in Spain.

Since its launch in 2008 Gin Mare, soaked in all the influences of its Mediterranean home has proved highly successful on the cocktail scene, though when partnered with its stablemate 1724 tonic, it also makes a stunning G&T – especially when served in the generous Spanish style. It is the creation of Marc and Manuel Giró, the fourth generation of a noted Spanish distilling house that is behind the popular GinMG and other brands. Their goal was to create a new contemporary, premium gin that reflected its origins.

To develop it, they exhaustively tested forty-five different botanicals, finally settling on a range that, along with wild juniper harvested from the family estate, included Arbequina olives (small, low yielding and expensive), sweet and bitter oranges and lemons (all painstakingly hand-peeled), rosemary, thyme and basil, and more commonly seen gin botanicals such as coriander and cardamom. Hard though it is to credit, the fruit zests are macerated in neutral spirit for fully twelve months before it is deemed ready for distillation to begin.

That takes place in the distillery’s custom-designed 250-litre Florentine pot still (interestingly a similar design is used in perfume manufacture and at G’Vine), after which the finished product is bottled, literally next door to the distillery, at 42.7%.

As might be expected from the unorthodox use of olives, rosemary and so on, this is a different-tasting gin – and one that once tasted won’t be forgotten. Understandably, it’s not the cheapest gin on the market but, with its unusual make-up and distinctive presentation, still offers excellent value.

If this is the sea, don’t hesitate to dive right in.

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