As the rise of Mexican food and drinks continues, we’re seeing a growing interest in Mexican craft spirits–beyond agave. With Mexico’s rich corn culture, aged whisky is an obvious contender, as is the established tradition of cane spirits, or aguardientes. And we’ve also seen some interesting mezcal-gin hybrids over the past few years.
Then there’s the rise of Mexican gin, which comes as no surprise either. Gin is experiencing an international renaissance. From a production standpoint, this is thanks to the exponential growth in craft distilleries combined with the relatively quick production timeline. The world of craft cocktails has also embraced gin. Mexico is offering exciting contributions to the gin renaissance, and we are jumping in with a first look at Gin Katun.
Gin Katun founder Roberto Brinkman was also a founder of Bruxo Mezcal, which inspired him to pursue his creativity in distillation.
“When I left the [Bruxo] operation after 8 years, I decided I wanted to distill,” he says. “At that time there were no Mexican gin brands, though it’s a growing category throughout Mexico and the local botanical culture is incredible.”
With creative juices flowing, he and his associate master distiller Javier Pulido experimented and developed the recipe.
The inaugural distillation of the first Yucatecan gin was in 2017. Brinkman and Pulida were committed to making a product that embodies its Yucatecan origin, and the gin’s 17 botanicals include local ingredients like heirloom citrus, cardamom, achiote, sage, chilies (including habanero and xcatic) and tropical fruits. The botanicals infuse the gin with a sense of place, the only imported element being juniper. The neutral base spirit is made from corn, and after maceration and distillation the still-strength liquor is mixed with cenote water before filtering and bottling.
One of the more unique, and terroir-forward, aspects to the gin is the use of cenote water, which is the manifestation of refreshment. “One of my friends always says…it’s like cenote water…the gin is very fresh,” recounts Brinkman, noting that there are layers of flavor, including spice from the chiles.
The complexity of the flavors from local botanicals reflect the cuisine of the region, and Mexico in general. The Mexican gin category is just starting to unfold with a handful of interesting brands already on the market, and rapid growth projected. Like all of the world’s best beverages, the ones that translate the flavors of their origin will be the most successful and exciting to sip.
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