FIRST JOURNEYS - EASTERN EUROPEAN EXPEDITION- PIN 08 OF 17
TOISON DRY GIN, Slovakia
A ROAD TRIP WHERE EVERY STOP HAS A STORY
There are always countries on my gin radar that I haven't explored properly yet, and Slovakia was one of them. A little digging uncovered a surprisingly interesting world of distillers, local ingredients and stories — and one particularly memorable bottle.
I'm always on the lookout for gins I can't easily get in the UK. Since Brexit, importing bottles from Europe has become considerably more complicated, so whenever I'm travelling I keep an eye out for local bottle shops and have a browse. There are plenty of gins on my list, so you never quite know what might turn up. I got lucky on a day trip to Bratislava.
I found the Toison Dry Gin I'd been looking for, and even better, there was a boxed version. It was only a couple of euros more, so that was an easy decision. The box gives the bottle a little extra protection, especially useful when you're travelling with glass, but it also gave me somewhere to stash a few small bits of clothing around the bottle. I then promptly forgot I'd done it. For an entire year. Yes, really. I eventually found the ...erm... smalls when I decided it was time to plan this virtual tour. The gin had been sitting there quite happily, minding its own business, all along!
The bottle is what really caught my attention, though. It is unlike most gin bottles, and once I started digging into the story behind it, I realised that almost every detail has a connection to the place where it is made.
That takes me to Trenčianske Teplice, a spa town in western Slovakia known for its thermal springs. This is where Toison is made, in a restored historic building at the entrance to the spa park, and it is the town itself that holds the key to the rather unusual bottle. Normally I have to search for ages to find some connection between a bottle and the folklore or history of the place it comes from. This time, the bottle practically handed me the story.
According to an old local legend, the healing springs were discovered by a lame shepherd who was searching for a lost sheep. The sheep became part of the identity of Trenčianske Teplice — it even appears in the town's coat of arms — and when the designers were told the story, they used it as the starting point for the Toison design.
Look closely and you can see how the story has been woven into the bottle. Its shape is inspired by a shepherd's bell, while the raised curls running around the clear glass are intended to resemble sheep's fleece. On the aluminium cap, ripples form the sheep, linking it with the town's famous thermal waters. Even the name fits: Toison is the French word for fleece or wool.
The bottle and label were designed by the Slovak studio Pergamen, with Juraj Demovič credited for the design. The work won Bronze at the Pentawards 2020 and later received a Red Dot Design Award.
The gin starts with wheat spirit, juniper, flowers and herbs, with the recipe bringing together chamomile, linden flowers, lemon peel, rose hips, strawberry leaf, rose pepper and grains of paradise. Liquorice, chokeberry and citrus come through towards the finish. The result is intended to have a meadow-herb and spice character, with a lighter fruitiness from the citrus.
The strawberry leaf caught my eye. We see strawberries in gin often enough, but using the leaf is a different proposition. Then there are the linden flowers and chamomile, which seem perfectly at home in a gin inspired by a spa town and its surrounding countryside.
The production has its own little surprise. The botanicals are macerated in the wheat spirit before being distilled in a Holstein still, but the gin doesn't go straight into the bottle afterwards. It rests in antique stoneware vessels dating from the former Czechoslovakia. This feels like a small meeting point between the old and new Slovakia.
The people behind Toison came from the drinks world rather than a long line of distillers. Pavol Sirotný and Michal Hajský had been working in Slovak gastronomy, restaurants, catering and cocktail bars since 2008 before turning their attention to their own spirits. Their experience with bars and cocktails eventually led them towards creating a craft gin of their own.
There are awards for the liquid as well as the bottle, including recognition from the IWSC and World Gin Awards, so the design isn't having to carry the whole story on its shoulders.
The original gin has also spawned a rather eclectic little family, including a 57% Navy Strength, a Ruby Red made with berries, and a collector's edition that spends four months in oak barrels previously used for mead.
If I ever do make it to Trenčianske Teplice, Likérka sounds like the sort of distillery I could happily lose an afternoon in. It isn't hidden away on an industrial estate.
The old 1920s building sits between the promenade and the spa park, with the distillery tucked behind a design-led aperitif bar and café. You can sit on the terrace overlooking the park, have a coffee, come back for a drink later — and, rather wonderfully, see the production itself through the glass.
They run tastings and guided tours too, taking visitors through the production and finishing with Toison, the other spirits and cocktails made there. So this isn't simply somewhere to buy a bottle of gin. They've created a place where the gin, the town and the experience all meet.
The building has had quite a life of its own. The 1920s house was once a butcher's shop and later a grocery store before falling into disrepair.
Rather than erase its past, the renovation brought back some of its original features, while giving it a completely new life as a distillery and bar. The result has even picked up an INSAID interior design award and a CE ZA AR architecture nomination.
What started as a gin inspired by a Slovak spa town, its sheep and an old local legend has developed into something much bigger — but without losing sight of where it came from.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."