FIRST JOURNEYS - EUROPEAN EXPEDITION- PIN 10 OF 40
PORT OF DRAGONS GIN - Catalonia, Spain
A ROAD TRIP WHERE EVERY STOP HAS A STORY
Every landscape has its legends, and in Catalonia one of the oldest tells of a dragon lurking beneath the waters of Lake Banyoles.
Today I'm heading to the historic town of Cervera in Catalonia to visit Destilería Premium, home of Port of Dragons Gin.
Despite the name, there doesn't appear to be a documented connection between the brand and Catalan dragon folklore, but it feels too perfect a coincidence to ignore.
Port of Dragons celebrates traditional distilling, recreating eighteenth-century recipes and techniques using a classic malted barley base, Pyrenean juniper and small-batch production of around 600 bottles at a time under the watchful eye of distiller Óscar Tamayo.
Catalonia, however, has no shortage of dragons.
One of its oldest legends comes from Lake Banyoles, the largest natural freshwater lake in Catalonia.
Today it's a peaceful place where visitors kayak across crystal-clear waters, stroll along the lakeside or wander through the charming old town, whose canals have been fed by the lake for centuries. But according to local folklore, something rather more sinister once lurked beneath the surface.
The Banyoles Monster was said to emerge from the depths breathing foul, poisonous vapours that withered everything they touched. Livestock disappeared, the water became tainted and terrified villagers feared venturing anywhere near the lake. Legend tells that the creature's appetite became so insatiable that offerings were left to appease it, while even Charlemagne's soldiers failed to defeat the beast, their horses overcome by its fiery breath.
Finally, a French monk known as Saint Emeterio confronted the monster, not with weapons but with prayer. Rather than slaying it, he is said to have tamed the creature, transforming it into a peaceful herbivore that returned quietly to the depths of the lake. Perhaps it still lives there today.
Like many old legends, there may be a grain of truth hidden beneath the fantasy. The volcanic landscape around Banyoles has long been associated with mysterious gases and strange natural phenomena, making it easy to imagine how stories of poisonous breath and fire-breathing monsters took hold over the centuries.
My cocktail is a smoky Negroni, inspired by the dragon's fiery breath and made with
Port of Dragons Gin and
Vermut Lustau, one of Spain's most respected vermouths and a favourite aperitif throughout Barcelona.
From the world's biggest food fight to a gin that unites Spain and Scotland, today's stop in Valencia is full of colour, character and Mediterranean sunshine.
Smoking Negroni
- 30ml Port of Dragons Pure Gin
- 30ml Vermut Lustau
- 30ml Bitter aperitivo
- Smoke the glass before serving
A dark, smoky twist on the classic Negroni, inspired by one of Catalonia's most enduring legends.
Atlas Note – Sant Jordi
Catalonia’s love of dragons is perhaps most famously celebrated through Sant Jordi, the region’s patron saint. Every year on 23 April, streets fill with roses and books as the legend of the knight who defeated the dragon is remembered—a tradition that makes the name Port of Dragons feel wonderfully at home in Catalonia.
"Show me a bottle and I’ll tell you a story."