FIRST JOURNEYS - EUROPEAN EXPEDITION- PIN 25 (first stop) OF 40
HUCKLEBERRY GIN - Germany
A ROAD TRIP WHERE EVERY STOP HAS A STORY
I've nipped over the border into Germany today and have a couple of stops planned in Munich.
Although the city is best known for beer halls and sprawling biergärten, where friends gather beneath chestnut trees to eat, drink and while away long summer evenings, today's stop is all about a friendship of a different kind.
With a name like Huckleberry Gin, it's impossible not to think of Mark Twain's adventurous duo, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. That connection is entirely intentional. Friends Max Elsholtz and Jens Lauckner created the brand as a celebration of companionship, adventure and making memories together, working with an established Bavarian distillery to bring their vision to life.
The recipe centres around huckleberries—close cousins of the blueberry—supported by raspberries and elderberries alongside more traditional gin botanicals. The result is bright, fruity and gently floral, but with enough juniper to remind you that this is still very much a gin.
I've kept things simple with their recommended serve: plenty of ice, tonic, blueberries and a sprig of fresh mint.
By complete coincidence, my miniature bottle arrived as part of a gin swap with a fellow gin enthusiast, making this bottle rather fittingly another reminder that great spirits are often shared between friends.
The name carries another story too. Film buffs may remember Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday in Tombstone, where he famously declares, "I'm your huckleberry."
Historians debate exactly what the phrase originally meant—and whether the real Doc Holliday ever said it at all—but today it's generally understood as a promise of loyalty: I'm your person. You can count on me.
Whether inspired by Mark Twain, the Old West or simply good company, the message behind Huckleberry Gin is the same.
True friends are always together in spirit.
Some friendships are written in books. Others are bottled in gin.
"Show me a bottle and I’ll tell you a story."