FIRST JOURNEYS - EUROPEAN EXPEDITION- PIN 16 OF 40
MALFY GIN - Moncalieri, Piedmont, Italy
A ROAD TRIP WHERE EVERY STOP HAS A STORY
A taste of Amalfi, a home in Piedmont — the gin where geography meets imagination.
The tour continues and I have crossed into Italian territory, with my first stop taking me just outside Turin to Moncalieri — home of Torino Distillati and the Malfy Gin range.
Now, I’m sure Malfy needs very little introduction, but there is one thing worth clearing up…
If you assumed this gin came from the Amalfi Coast because of the name, you would be forgiven — but you would also be completely wrong!
We are firmly in northern Italy here, in the Piedmont region, rather than the south.
The distillery itself has a long history, tracing its roots back to 1906, and remains connected to the Vergnano family, although today Malfy is part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio.
So where does the Amalfi connection come from?
The answer is the lemons.
Malfy celebrates Italy’s famous citrus heritage, using lemons grown in coastal regions including Amalfi and Sicily.
The Amalfi lemon, or sfusato amalfitano, is particularly prized for its fragrant peel, intense aroma and distinctive flavour.
These are not your average supermarket lemons — they can grow to an impressive size and are a true symbol of the Italian coastline.
Of course, this connection has caused some debate locally, with some in Amalfi feeling that the association with their famous coastline creates an impression of a product that is more directly rooted there than it actually is.
It is an interesting example of how powerful a sense of place can be when it comes to food and drink.
Malfy Con Limone is, as you would expect, all about the lemon. However, beneath the citrus there is still a solid juniper backbone which appears more clearly once diluted with tonic.
For today’s serve though, I have decided to embrace the lemon completely and revisit a classic dessert I grew up with but haven’t made for years.
Warning — do not count the sugar in this one!
This is essentially a lemon meringue pie in a glass and definitely one for those with a sweet tooth. The cocktail itself combines Malfy gin with limoncello and lemon curd, then gets topped with Italian meringue and finished with a quick blast from the torch.
The result is sharp, sweet and indulgent — with the creamy meringue softening the citrus hit as you sip through it.
Would I make it every day? Absolutely not! But for a Italian-inspired dessert cocktail, it is a lot of fun. It would probably work better in a smaller glass with a more restrained meringue topping… but this one was made for the camera!
Does a spirit belong to the place where it is made, the place it represents, or the landscape that inspired it?
Lemon Meringue Pie Cocktail
50ml Malfy Con Limone
20ml Limoncello
4 tablespoons lemon curd
Italian meringue topping
Stir the gin, limoncello and lemon curd thoroughly before shaking with ice. Pour into a glass, top generously with meringue and torch until golden.
"Show me a bottle and I’ll tell you a story."