Following a hugely successful series of events last year, Med Rooftops returned this summer in several major European cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, Munich, Lisbon and Rome.
Gin Mare served with British Oysters at the London 'Med Rooftops' Event.
In late July, it was London's turn to welcome this fantastic Gin Mare event, where guests had the opportunity to enjoy Mediterranean-inspired cocktails, including the 'Classic Mare G&T', served with a slice of mango, and 'Perfect Martini' paired with a strawberry garnish. The event was held in the heart of London, at the rooftop of the 'Institution of Engineering and Technology' (IET), with amazing, panoramic views over the river Thames. On the food front, there was a summery menu of fresh Mediterranean tapas and canapes, as well as Oysters dressed with gin to go with the cocktails.
It was a unique and memorable evening for all guests, all courtesy of Gin Mare.
Drinks are getting ready at one of the many rooftop bars serving Gin Mare cocktails during the event.
The Gin Mare display at the rooftop over river Thames in Central London.
A refreshing and exclusive Gin Mare cocktail was served to all guests on arrival, while a selection of taste-bud tantalising Gin Mare cocktails were served throughout the evening.
There was a continuous flow of fresh Oysters throughout the night, deliciously served with Gin Mare.
The view over river Thames was simply breath-catching.
Gin Mare
Gin Mare (meaning 'sea') is inspired by the Mediterranean culture
and is made using the finest botanicals of the region, such as Arbequina olives,
thyme, rosemary and basil.
Gin Mare has
long been the reference point for a gin that’s pushed the boundary of what a
gin could taste like, with rosemary, thyme, olive, and basil included in the botanical line
up. It is savoury and unusual, balanced and complex. It is also a Spanish Gin
made in Spain, something that has helped it to establish
itself firmly in one of the world’s biggest Gin markets.
Made in the small Spanish fishing town of Vilanova, just outside the city of
Barcelona, Gin Mare epitomises
the Mediterranean spirit.
Gin Mare - Mediterranean Gin
The pot still used to create Gin Mare is housed in a chapel in a
property that was once a monk’s retreat. Purchased in
the 1950’s by the Giro Ribot family to house its
growing business, it manages to combine utility with a characterful location;
space to distil, yet adorned with a fresco.
Having dealt in wine and spirit deals since 1835,
the Ribot family’s first foray into Gin began
in the 1940’s when Manuel Giro Sr launched GIN MG, now one of
Spain’s biggest selling gins. With this juggernaut firmly established,
grandsons Mark and Manuel Jr wanted to assert their own ideas and create a new
type of gin, inspired by the Mediterranean climate and using locally
sourced botanicals.
In 2007, development of a new gin made in
collaboration with Global Premium Brands –
who were brought on board as equal partners to lend their marketing and
distribution expertise began. They started by distilling 45 botanicals independently, though
deciding which to use was made all the more difficult by the Costa Dorada region’s abundance of
local produce.
After much debate, tasting and tinkering, the brothers
chose arbequina olives as their local
botanical. Due to the low yield of arbequina olives when juiced, up to
15kgs of olives have to be used per
distillation batch. They also add citrus, cardamom and coriander along
with thyme, basil, rosemary and juniper berries. The
latter are grown on the family’s land and have an unusually soft skin.
Gin Mare - Made using traditional distillation process developed and perfected over decades.
Interestingly, the citrus is a custom blend
of sweet oranges from
Seville, bitter oranges from
Valencia and lemons from
Lleida. The citrus fruit is macerated for an entire year in neutral spirit of
around 50% ABV.
While the citruses are macerated together for an
extensive period of time, most of the other botanicals are macerated separately
for around 36h and then individually distilled in a 250lt Florentine
still. The distillation takes around 4.5 hours, yielding a hearts cut of
approximately 105lt. Once the six different distillations have taken place,
they are blended with more neutral spirit and water to create Gin Mare. All the blending and bottling
takes place in the main plant, directly next to the chapel.
Gin Mare - The Taste
A testament to the brothers vision of a locally
inspired gin, Gin Mare does
indeed taste “Mediterranean”. It smells herbaceous, with resinous juniper and thyme
dominating. Olives are also
apparent. To taste, more juniper with a
burst of basil, rosemary and thyme emerge as well as coriander. The
combination feels savoury and different to other gins on the shelf,
marking Gin Mare as both authentic and
original. It can be considered as being part of a very short list of
“Herbal” gins, and when served with the right tonic, makes for a delightful
aperitivo.
More than a decade on from the launch and Gin
Mare is widely revered by Gin fans, selling well in Europe and
the US. With a new bottle shape launched in 2012, and a continued effort
to talk to bartenders first and host consumer events second, the brand’s
on-trade presence continues to grow, with advocacy amongst trade is
re-enforced. With a savvy brand team and distillers who’ve been making spirits
for generations, Gin Mare is
steadily growing into one of the giants of the Gin scene.