FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 77 OF 80
GIN RAW, Barcelona, Spain
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
Barcelona has long had a reputation for doing things a little differently, and its gin scene is no exception.
Food, design, creativity and experimentation are all part of the city's identity, so when two Barcelona-born entrepreneurs, Roger Burgués and Lluís Jáuregui, set out to create a premium gin, they wanted to bring that gastronomic spirit into the bottle.
Rather than simply creating another gin, they brought together four specialists from very different worlds: chef Xano Saguer, sommelier Sergi Figueras, mixologist Javier Caballero and master perfumer Rosendo Mateu. Their idea was to create a gin capable of standing alongside fine food — something that captured the aromas and personality of Barcelona.
The result was Ginraw, launched in Barcelona in the mid-2010s. It's an interesting meeting of traditional distilling and modern culinary technique, and even the botanicals reflect that international outlook: lemon, cedrat and laurel from the Mediterranean are combined with kaffir lime leaves, black cardamom and coriander.
Ginraw is produced in small batches at the Mascaró distillery in Vilafranca del Penedès, just outside Barcelona. Mascaró is a family business with three generations of experience in wine and spirits, and its own distillery is in the heart of the Penedès.
What makes Ginraw particularly interesting is the two-part distillation. Juniper is traditionally distilled in copper, while the fresh botanicals are processed individually at low temperature using Rotaval®, technology developed for the world of haute cuisine. The resulting essences are then blended with the juniper distillate, allowing the fresh botanical aromas to remain at the heart of the gin.
I love the bottle too. The frosted glass gradually becomes clear towards the bottom, reflecting the idea of preserving the pure aromatic essence, while its tall, striking shape certainly gives it plenty of presence behind a bar.
And with Barcelona's combination of Mediterranean ingredients, international influences and serious cocktail culture, this really does feel like a little piece of the city in a bottle.
"The Essence of Barcelona"
Ginraw Martinez
50ml Ginraw
25ml Starlino Vermouth
10ml Maraschino liqueur
3 dashes Angostura bitters
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."