FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 27 OF 80
AMAZZONI, Rio de Janiero, Brazil
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
I love legends and the stories behind brands, and this one has gone straight to the top of my list! I'm sitting here in a gin and tonic haze with my head spinning at how the minds of Arturo Isola, Alexandre Mazza and Tato Giovannoni have managed to put so many layers of Brazilian history, culture and the Amazon into one bottle.
Tato Giovannoni was the man behind Príncipe de los Apóstoles Gin, and he worked closely with Arturo and Alexandre to develop the recipe for Amázzoni. Their aim was to create a gin that was unmistakably Brazilian, using botanicals which told the story of the country rather than simply recreating a European gin style.
And they certainly achieved that.
Amázzoni was founded in 2017 at the historic Cachoeira Farm, an 18th-century coffee estate in the Vale do Paraíba, around 130km from Rio de Janeiro. It became Brazil's first dedicated craft gin distillery, and the brand quickly attracted attention internationally. In 2018 Amázzoni was named World's Best Craft Producer at the World Gin Awards, while the original gin has subsequently collected further international awards.
But there are so many layers to the story that I thought I would start with the one botanical that adds very little, if anything, to the flavour of the gin, but gives it its soul and its symbolic connection to the Amazon — water lily seeds.
There are 11 botanicals in the original Amázzoni Gin, five of which were chosen specifically for their connection to Brazil and the Amazon: cocoa, Brazil nut, maxixe, cipó-cravo and Victoria Régia, the giant water lily. The other botanicals include juniper, coriander, bay leaf, lemon, mandarin and pink pepper.
The water lily seeds are particularly special. Just one seed is added to every 500 litres of gin, and it isn't there to create a particular flavour. Arturo has described it as a spiritual decision — a symbolic link between the gin and the Amazon rainforest. The seeds are sourced from an Indian lake associated with the Huni Kuin people in northern Brazil, deep in the Amazon.
And this is where the Legend of Naia comes in.
The Amazon is home to Victoria amazonica, one of the world's largest water lilies. Its enormous round leaves can grow to several metres across, floating on the surface of the water, while its beautiful flowers open above the water.
According to the legend, the young women of an indigenous tribe would gather beside the water and sing beneath the light of Jaci, the moon warrior. They believed that if they could touch the moon, they would be transformed into stars.
The village elders warned them that trying to reach the moon would cost them their lives, but the young women continued to dream of becoming stars.
One night, Naiá, the youngest of the tribe, was walking beside the river when she saw the reflection of the moon shimmering on the surface of the water.
She believed Jaci had come down from the heavens to bathe in the river.
Enchanted by the reflection, Naiá reached out towards her moon and dived into the water.
She disappeared beneath the surface and drowned.
Jaci was moved by her devotion and, rather than turning her into a star in the heavens, transformed her into another kind of star — a beautiful, fragrant giant water lily, the Vitória Régia.
And so, according to the legend, Naiá became the flower that floats upon the waters of the Amazon, forever reaching towards the moon.
I think that is rather beautiful.
And now look at that little seed embossed on the bottle.
It suddenly means rather more than simply being an unusual botanical, doesn't it?
The five Amazonian botanicals were deliberately selected to represent Brazil's extraordinary biodiversity. Cocoa, Brazil nut, maxixe, cipó-cravo and water lily all bring something different to the story, and some of them were rarely, if ever, seen as gin botanicals before Amázzoni. The water lily is perhaps the most intriguing because its role is deliberately symbolic rather than flavour-driven.
The name itself continues the story. Amázzoni is derived from the idea of the Amazon warriors, linking the gin back to the region that inspired its creation and the botanicals which give it its identity.
There is a lovely sense of adventure running through the whole brand. Arturo, Alexandre and Tato weren't simply looking for unusual ingredients to make an interesting gin; they wanted to create something that would introduce Brazilian flavours and ingredients to a spirit culture which, at the time, was overwhelmingly dominated by cachaça.
They found those ingredients across Brazil and brought them together in a recipe that remains recognisably gin, with juniper, citrus and spice at its heart, but has an unmistakable Brazilian personality.
The botanicals are macerated in neutral grain spirit before being distilled in their copper still, and the finished gin is blended with water from the region. The bottles themselves are handmade from recycled glass using traditional artisanal techniques, another little nod to Brazilian craftsmanship.
And the story didn't stop with the original Amázzoni.
Rio Negro followed, named after one of the great tributaries of the Amazon and created as a bolder, higher-strength expression at 51% ABV. Then came Maniuara Cítrico, the lighter 38% Old Tom-style expression, named after the Maniuara ant, which is itself part of Amazonian culinary and cultural traditions.
“The Legend of Naia”
The Serve:
Tropical Gin Spritz - using gin, papaya, simple syrup and topped with soda.
🌙🌿
So three very different gins, but all rooted in the same philosophy — Brazil first, gin second.
And then there is another little twist in the story.
Pernod Ricard invested in Amázzoni in 2018, helping the brand expand internationally, and subsequently acquired the business in 2021. That investment helped take this distinctly Brazilian gin into new markets around the world.
I think what fascinates me most about Amázzoni isn't actually the gin itself, although I certainly enjoy that too. It's the way they have managed to take botanicals, mythology, indigenous culture, Brazilian craftsmanship, the Amazon rainforest and a very modern craft distillery and weave them into one story.
You can look at the bottle and simply see a Brazilian gin.
Or you can look a little closer and find a water lily seed from the Amazon, a story about a young woman reaching for the moon, five botanicals chosen because of where they come from, and three people trying to create something that would put Brazilian gin on the world stage.
That's the stuff I love discovering on this tour.
And somewhere, Naiá is still reaching for the moon. 🌙🌿
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."