What happens when two men who are born and bred in Barcelona decide to express their love of their beloved city? Being as Spain is at the forefront of the gin revolution, it was always going to be a fancy new gin; as it happens this gin, called GINRAW, is very good. The venture was started by Roger Burgués and Luis Jáuregui. two marketeers who are unbelievably passionate about Barcelona. They both worked in the drinks and luxury industry so had access to some of the best talent in the city. They used their connections well and the team they ended up putting together is impressive to say the least; Rossend Mateu (maître parfumeur), Javier Caballero (mixologist), Sergi Figueras (sommelier) and Xano Saguer (chef). Between them, they decided to do something that was going to make GINRAW stand out from the crowd by using an ultra modern cooking technique to distil part of the gin. The Rotaval is a rotary evaporator used in haute cuisine and distils at a low temperature; this technique was coupled with the use of a traditional copper still to combine the best of old and new. Only the juniper element of the gin is distilled in the copper still with the other six botanicals being distilled individually in the Rotaval before being blended together and cut to bottling strength before being left to rest. There is a selection of fresh botanicals, including lemon peel from Murcia, cedrat peel from Valencia and laurel from Spain. The more exotic ingredients include kaffir lime leaves sourced from Thailand, black cardamom from India and coriander seeds from Egypt.
Each run of gin consists of 5000 bottles which are then individually numbered. The juniper base is prevalent on the nose with citrus combining to start the mouth salivating. On the palate, the lime leaf follows the citrus notes from nose nicely before branching out into more complex territory with a little spice and smokiness; this is rounded out by the bay leafs which add depth. This is a real quality gin; so much thought has been put into its creation and the results show this admirably. The bottle top is made from sustainable ash wood and the bottle is sleek and ultra modern, just another nod to the unique way it's distilled. This isn't a cheap gin and never could be priced as such what with the method in which its created. At £54.50 it is certainly at the higher end of the market but that's exactly where it aims, and deserves, to be. If you are looking for a super premium gin, I suggest you give this a try. You can buy a bottle of GINRAW buy following this link