Horses and Gin
Minorca's histories
- Menorca and its stories
- The Talayotic settlements and the legend of Es Tudons and Na Patarrá
- Menorca Audax: audacity or Viriato
- Santa Galdana and its legend
- Minorca and the legends of Xoroi and its night club
- The repopulition of Menorca in the middle ages
- Minorca and the attack of Ciutadella by the turkish: The story of a longstanding rivalry
- Mount El Toro, the Eiffel Tower and the Holy Virgin
- Governor Kane: a Menorcan in Westminster
- The capital being transferred from Ciutadella to Mahón
- Nelson and his lover
- Collingwood and his ghost.
- Richelieu and the mayonnaise sauce
- Governor Stuart and the Letters of Marque
- English, Greeks and merchants: The Conception Church in Mahon
- La Mola of Mahon Fortress and the Queens gold.
- The Jaleo and its music
- The Jaleo and the Minorcan Horse
- Horses and Gin
- Farmland within the city: the curious structure of Mahon
- Minorca: The old limestone quarries
- Smugglers and the best landscape of Minorca
- The Mediterranean wood: Hotel Audax's garden
- Hortus botanicus (medicinal garden) in the middle of the sea
Another basic component of any festival, along with horsemen, horses and music is gin, the traditional liquor from Minorca. Its origins have to be found, as so many things, in the XVIII century during the English domination. By then, gin was a very popular drink among English seamen. The soldiers and sailors who disembarked in Minorca, where usually quite thirsty, and anxious to get their favourite spirit.
Local brewers soon found out the way of making gin, but they had to introduce some significant changes in its original recipe. The main one was due to the fact that alcohol from cereals fermentation was not available here, so they had to substitute it for alcohol from the fermentation of grapes (namely, from wine). On the other hand, some berries, such as that of juniper, were not available here, so they had to import them from oversees. Gin is transparent and has high alcohol content, between 38 and 43Vol%. Currently is still produced in Minorca in the traditional way, as it used to be in the XVIII century, with no additives other than natural herbs and spices. Distillation is done by means of copper stills. Latter, the spirit is aged in oak barrels that had been previously soaked in gin. Since 1997 this typical product has been protected by a geographical certificate that distinguishes it from similar liquors produced elsewhere. The way gin is being drunk in Minorca, has evolved over time. Traditionally was taken in a small glass (“un ginet”) together with a large glass of water. Some addicts to this drink managed to convince their bartender to invert the glasses, so that they got a big glass full of gin and another small of water, without anybody’s noticing.Nowadays it is usually mixed with lemonade, a kind of lemon gin that here is know as “pomada”. But be aware that such a term is only used in the Mahon area, so be careful when visiting Ciutadella. Then, you better ask for a “ginet and llimonada”.
If you want to learn more about this beverage we invite you to visit the website of Minorca’s main distillery.
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