Gin Was Invented in Italy and We’ve Got Proof!
Italy is the birthplace of some most delicious drinks and dishes – can you believe that gin was invented on this beautiful peninsula too?
It is commonly accepted that the dutch spirit genever is the oldest predecessor of the gin we drink today. Do we agree? Malfy, an Italian gin producer, told us to rethink our beliefs. Here is their take on the story…
A collection of books compiled around 1055 under the name Compendium Salernita includes a recipe for a tonic wine infused with juniper berries. In addition, in the 11th-century, Italian monks mixed juniper berries and cuttings with other locally sourced ingredients to make their own, homemade spirit. Italy is one of the many homes of juniper, which has been used for medicinal purposes since the old days.
Malfy Gin is one of the few gins that resurrected this tradition in Italy and is now producing some outstanding spirits! In Malfy’s words:
“A sip of MALFY Gin captures the perfect gin moment – sitting on a sunny terrace, enjoying the view – “Dolce far niente”, the sweet art of doing nothing…” – BELLISSIMO!
Malfy Gin
MALFY is made at Torino Distillati, a family owned distillery in the town of Moncalieri minutes away from Turin. It is known for its long tradition of producing Grappa, Vermouth, Amaro and other delicious Italian specialty drinks. The region Piedmonte is famous for its wines and, if this was not a good enough reason to pay a visit, Carlo Vergano, Beppe Ronco and Denis Muni gave us a most compelling one by starting to produce Gin.
Carlo is the business brains behind this Gin, Beppe and Denis are the master distillers. Malfy Gin was launched in March, 2016 – and despite the competitive nature of the category, the brand is doing incredibly well. In many markets, MALFY became a top-10 super-premium gin in only 2 years!
Production Method
Why is Italian food so great? The secret stands in the superior quality of the ingredients. Malfy gin applies the same principle to make its Gin. It sources most of the 8 botanicals from Italy and harvests them at their prime time with traditional methods.
The water is used comes from the close by Moviso Mountain, the highest source of spring water in Italy! The lemons come from the Amalfi coast and are harvested by local farmers. The juniper is harvested using traditional tools (harvesting rakes and sieves to shed non-Juniper materials) late summer/early fall in the hills of Tuscany. The other botanicals include: coriander, cassia, angelica root, orris root, orange peel and grapefruit peel.
The production method is true to the tradition. The botanicals are weighed and put into the still along with with high proof Italian Wheat Spirit (85% abv). Distillation takes 6hrs after which the high proof distillate is blended with Italian Wheat Spirit to the correct strength. The distillate is “cut” with the water from Monviso, the minimally mineralised water with one of the lowest sodium levels and total dissolved solids in the world. The Spirit is chill filtered to remove any clouding oils from the lemon peel and bottled in the same site where it is produced, unlike many other gins!
The Flavour Profile
Malfy Originale
A homage to the monks that invented gin in Italy back in 1050 AD!
Chrystal clear to the eye, its aroma is classic, herbal, juniper with a light citrus and anise notes.
On the tongue, the juniper is prominent, the coriander exacerbates the citrus and the cassia bark helps counter some of the tannins and helps with an overall rounding.
Malfy Con Limone
Where the hero ingredient are the Sicilian Lemons, for those who are not so keen on the strong taste of juniper.
On the nose you get fresh lemon with a solid backbone of rich grain spirit. To the taste, a lemon zing prevails with a long complex finish of zesty citrus with a background of juniper.
The Authentic Gintonic Italiano
The Authentic Gintonic ItalianoFill a copa glass with 4-5 lime or lemon peels and fill with ice.
Pour in a healthy measure (50-70ml) of Malfy Gin and stir.
Top up with premium tonic water and enjoy!
Read more about Malfy Gin on their website.
Want to give Malfy Gins a try? They are in this month’s Dolce Far Niente box!
Then why not join the ILoveGin club where we send you a new box like the ones below for just £14/m inc free delivery, you’ll get 2 new gins and 2 tonic/mixers each month to try, enough to make 4 G&Ts plus discounts on full size bottles.
Limited Time Offer: Get your first box for just £9 including delivery, that’s £9 for 4 x G&Ts, use code: GINBLOG5OFF at checkout at ILoveGin.com/join
