FIRST JOURNEYS - EASTERN EUROPEAN EXPEDITION- PIN 03 OF 17
CRAFTERS GIN - Tallinn, Estonia
A ROAD TRIP WHERE EVERY STOP HAS A STORY
There is something particularly fitting about discovering Crafter’s Gin in Tallinn. Estonia is a land of forests, wetlands and wild places, and its relationship with the natural world runs deep in both its culture and folklore.
Estonian forests have their own guardians and spirits. Metsavana, the Old Man of the Forest, is traditionally described as a guardian or ruler of the woods, while Metsaema, the Mother of the Forest, represents the forest as a living place, associated with its trees, plants and animals. Estonian folklore also contains darker tales of spirits that lead travellers astray. The eksitaja, or misleader, is said to confuse people in the forest and make them lose their way.
There are stories of strange voices calling from among the trees, travellers following sounds deeper into the woods, and spirits appearing in unexpected forms. Some traditions warn against shouting or whistling in the forest after dark, lest something answer back. The forest was not simply a source of timber, food and medicinal plants; it was a place with its own character and rules, deserving of respect.
Wild plants also have a place in traditional Estonian folk medicine. Crafter’s London Dry Gin uses Veronica, or speedwell, gathered in Estonia. Veronica has a long history in European herbal medicine, while Estonian ethnobotanical records document its use for maa-alused — ailments traditionally associated with the earth, including skin complaints and rashes.
Speedwell has an herbal, slightly bitter and tea-like character and is likely to give the gin a dry quality. Its inclusion provides a direct link to the Estonian landscape and to traditional knowledge of the plants growing there, giving the botanical a genuine sense of terroir.
Crafter’s Wild Forest Gin, Recipe No. 27, explores the forest from another direction. Its core botanicals include juniper berries, spruce needles and pine shoots, reflecting the evergreen forests of northern Estonia and its coastal landscape. Fresh pine shoots contribute deep resinous notes, while spruce needles bring a drier, more piercing character. Heather flowers and blueberry shoots add further woodland notes, balanced by citrus, ginger, nutmeg and orris root.
Crafter’s is made by Liviko, whose distilling history in Estonia stretches back more than a century. The company remains based in Tallinn, continuing a tradition passed through generations of distillers.
Liviko says the coastal environment helped shape the Wild Forest recipe. Northern Estonia's forests are exposed to strong sea winds, giving the landscape a tougher, more rugged character that the distillers wanted to capture in the gin.
Women feature prominently in the history of the company. The historic copper still Mamma Ilse was named after Ilse Maar, a long-serving liqueur master and one of the creators of Vana Tallinn. After around a century of service, the still was retired and is now preserved in the Liviko Museum.
The modern distillery's copper stills, Mahta and Elfride, were named after Mahta Laidvee and Elfride Kingisepp, two further female master distillers whose expertise became part of Liviko's history.
The names give the equipment its own lineage, connecting today's distillers with the women who worked with the craft before them.
Crafter’s takes a highly considered approach to its botanicals. Rather than distilling everything together, it uses single-botanical distillation, with individual botanicals distilled separately. The process can then be adjusted to suit each botanical, allowing the distillers to capture the aromatic qualities they want before blending the individual distillates.
The technique is particularly useful when working with botanicals as different as speedwell, juniper, spruce and pine. Each can be treated according to its own characteristics before the individual distillates are brought together.
Liviko traces its experience with botanical distillation back to the beginning of the twentieth century, when herbs were distilled in the company's pot stills. Crafter’s brings that accumulated knowledge together with a more modern, precise approach to gin production.
The sustainability story is equally practical.
Spent juniper is given another purpose rather than simply becoming waste. Residual juniper is used in Crafter’s Junibeer, while the botanical also finds a second life in Crafter’s Juniper Cheese, made with Andre Farm. The cheese has gone on to win recognition at the World Cheese Awards.
Packaging has also been reconsidered. Crafter’s has reduced the amount of glass used in its bottles by around one-third, with the bottles containing at least 50% recycled glass and produced around 85 kilometres from the Tallinn distillery. Liviko also says around 80% of the plant-based botanicals used in Crafter’s production are reused.
The juniper cheese may be the most unexpected part of the process. After giving its character to the gin, the botanical gets another chance to contribute something quite different — this time alongside a glass of wine rather than a G&T.
Where Estonian forests, folklore and generations of distilling craft meet in the glass.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."