The Gin Passport

Discover the distilleries, landscapes, folklore and traditions that bring Eastern Europe's gins to life.

Eastern Europe is a fascinating corner of the continent, shaped by ancient forests, mountain ranges, shifting borders, centuries-old traditions and a wonderfully rich mix of cultures. Increasingly, those stories are finding their way into a new generation of gin.

This is a region I've been wanting to explore for a while, and I've been quietly collecting bottles on my travels. Unfortunately, I've not yet managed to visit any distilleries in the region, apart from Prague, but as I keep saying... it's on my list! For now, I'm travelling my gin shelves rather than with my suitcase, following the bottles in my collection and putting the places behind them on the map.

So grab a G&T and join me for another #virtualgintour as I head east, travelling from the Baltic shores of Latvia and Estonia, through Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary, and onwards towards the Balkans.

Along the way, we'll uncover the stories behind the bottles: Baltic folklore, forest botanicals, traditional juniper spirits, ancient distilling traditions, local ingredients and the characters behind today's craft distilleries.

We'll discover how geography, history and local traditions shape the gins being made today, from the juniper-rich spirits of Slovakia to Hungary's Tokaj region and the Adriatic influences of Croatia and Slovenia.

There are plenty of stories to uncover, and probably a few rabbit holes along the way — yayy!! I've no idea what I'm going to uncover, and that's what makes it exciting. I'm sure there's a lot for me to learn about countries I've only dreamed of exploring.

For now, the suitcase stays firmly at home. The gin shelf is packed, the map is ready, and we're heading east.

The next stop is Eastern Europe... (Please note that this journey is far from complete and more stops will be added soon!)

PS. The research and writing these stories takes a fair amount of time (and money!), as does figuring out a cocktail that somehow fits the story, buying the necessary ingredients, testing the recipe and then photographing the whole lot, so for this #virtualgintour I've decided to keep things simple. For now, you'll find brand images of the bottles, and I may add some of my own photography over time.

Full disclosure — I have not opened or tried all of the gin in this series - some bottles are still sealed and on my shelf! I don't write gin tasting notes or reviews; these are stories about the bottles, the people and the places they come from. Some bottles I've bought because I've tasted and enjoyed the gin, others because they've won awards, caught my eye while travelling or simply because there was a story I wanted to chase.

I've also been fortunate enough to judge at competitions including the World Gin Awards, Gin Masters and Scottish Gin Co-operative Awards, so awards are something I do pay attention to when I'm deciding what to add to the collection. They aren't the only reason a bottle makes it onto my shelf, though. Sometimes the best reason is simply that I found it somewhere interesting and couldn't leave without it. 

And yes, I've bought some truly horrible gin along the way. That's all part of the experience too — you can't discover the good stuff without occasionally finding the absolute howlers!!