FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 78 OF 80

AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,

PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE



Whilst trying to find a bit more background about the founders of Nordés Gin, I came across an article discussing whether gin was first made from grapes or grains. I hadn't really thought about it and had simply assumed grain, but having been around my international collection, I've definitely identified plenty of different base spirits.


The answer isn't quite as straightforward as you might think. Gin's ancestor is generally considered to be jenever, which developed in the Low Countries, but early recipes and references use rather confusing terminology. Historical texts refer to wine, beer and "malt wine", and the meaning of these terms has changed over time. So perhaps the chicken-and-egg question of whether gin began with grain or grape is one we'll never completely settle!


What we do know is that Nordés deliberately chose grape. Its base spirit is made from Albariño, the white grape variety strongly associated with Galicia, giving the gin a distinctly Galician starting point.


The story of Nordés itself began rather appropriately over a plate of octopus, when a group of friends started dreaming about creating a gin that captured the essence of their home. The project brought together sommelier Xoán Cannas, winner of the 2004 Nariz de Oro award, winemaker and entrepreneur Juan Luis Méndez, and distiller José Ángel Albela. After extensive experimentation, Nordés was born in 2012.

The recipe combines the Albariño base with 11 botanicals, six of which are native to Galicia: sage, bay leaf, lemon verbena, eucalyptus, peppermint and salicornia (glasswort). These are joined by juniper, ginger, cardamom, hibiscus and black tea from elsewhere. Each botanical is macerated separately, for different lengths of time, before being distilled — some for only a few hours and others for much longer.


The bottle is just as closely tied to Galicia. Its blue-and-white design takes inspiration from the traditional porcelain made by Sargadelos, while the map and compass imagery reflect Galicia's Atlantic location and seafaring heritage. Even the name is a nod to the landscape: Nordés is the northeasterly wind that, in Galicia, heralds good weather.


There was a significant change to the story in 2015 when Osborne acquired Atlantic Galician Spirits. Importantly, they didn't move production away from Galicia; the company retained its production centre in Vedra, near Santiago de Compostela. Nordés is still very much presented as a Galician gin, and the brand remains part of the Osborne portfolio today.


So perhaps the real answer to my original question is that it doesn't matter whether grape or grain came first. Gin has always been rather good at adapting to what grows around it — and Nordés has made a virtue of putting Galicia firmly in the glass.

"When the northeasterly wind blows..."





Mula Gallega (Recipe from Nordés website)

50 ml Nordés gin infused with sage and pepper

25 ml lime juice

1.5 ml simple syrup

Ginger beer to top

Garnish with a sprig of sage.






"Show me a bottle

and I'll tell you a story."