Located in the town of Carmona, near Seville in Spain, Puerto de Indias distillery is down the hill from where the town is perched overlooking the surrounding plains. Recently renovated, the distillery blends the best of the modern branding and the history of the long-standing distillery. Photo Credit: Katie Hughes The traditionally whitewashed buildings are painted with a splash of pink and the whole distillery area is planted with bougainvillea and geraniums. A visit here includes tours, tastings and even making your own gin on a mini-still. The tour takes in the museum area where you can watch a video presentation and read information on the history of the brand and how they incorporate the history of the local area: The bottle shape is inspired by the 12-sided Torre de Oro in Seville, that is intrinsically linked to the history of the brand – Seville got the nickname Puerto de Indias for being the ‘gateway’ to the Indies (which was what Columbus originally thought he had discovered!). Photo Credit: Katie Hughes The Fernandez brothers from Seville, Jose Antonio and Francisco Rodriguez bought the distillery – one of the oldest in the area and the birthplace of the local anise & sloe liqueur, pacharan. They still make and age the liqueur here, however the brothers started making other spirits too, using the traditional copper stills. Whilst the distillery and stills date from 1880, they are also linked to the century’s old town of Carmona – via Roman aqueduct fed from the underground springs that kept the town & surrounding lands watered and prosperous in the super-hot climate. The water is even used to cool the vapours from the still in a pool fed by waterfall – so cool (literally!). Photo Credit: Katie Hughes There is a separate room with interactive displays on the distilling process. Here they explain how the strawberry flavoured gin was inspired by an ‘accident’ in macerating the local fruits and how the Puerto de Indias original gin is created – by blending the potent strawberry gin with a non-flavoured gin. The room also allows you to smell the main botanicals used in the gins in the range. Moving to the tasting room there is the chance to try the gins neat and also in a perfect serve. The Puerto de Indias original strawberry gin is recommended with either tonic or lemonade if tonic is not your thing – all with the obligatory strawberry garnish. They also do drink and food pairings, to highlight what works with the gins – a favourite is dark chocolate the strawberry gin, although everything tastes great with a gin and tonic! There is also the chance to see the gin making process up close and personal, by making your own gin on a mini still. Photo Credit: Katie Hughes You can enjoy your drinks outside in the pretty gardens too. The distillery has a shop modelled after those found in Carmona old town and many an Instagram-able spot. The tours including gin tastings take around 1.5 hours and need to be pre-booked, the cost will depend on the size of the group. Find out more and book a visit. The Author - Katie Hughes
Comments are closed.
|
RSS Feed
