The prototype of gin, a drink based on alcohol and juniper berries, was produced in Italy for the first time around 1500. But it was far from being a recreational drink; the aim was to transmit the healing properties of juniper.
This plant grows luxuriant and wild all over the peninsula, but in Tuscany, it reaches its excellence. With such a lush and varied nature, medicinal plants and herbs have been used since ancient times to cure all kinds of ailments.
In particular, the existence of the Salerno School, the most important medical institution in Europe during the Middle Ages, gave a great impulse to the process of distillation of products derived from plants and played a fundamental role in the development of medicine.
Italian-style Gin
Although it is true that gin is not, by birth, an Italian tradition, Italy is the biggest exporter of Juniper, which is the main ingredient. In a scenario made up of increasingly modern distilleries, Italian gin is a tree with two main branches: on the one hand, classic style products that are highly competitive at an international level, and on the other, a modern one made up of distillates designed to tell the story of the territory.
Italy carries on a long tradition of wine and spirits, but it is with the production of gin that it unleashes all its creativity. Flowers, herbs, citrus fruits, sea salt become perfect ingredients for a perfect blend. And so the tasting of gin in Italy becomes a journey.
