About the wine
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Description
Xoriguer is today - as always - the result of meticulous manual distillation in wood-fuelled copper stills, using the best wine alcohol (rather than the more commonly used grain alcohol) and fresh juniper berries. A number of other aromatics are added to create the gin's bouquet, but these remain a closely-guarded secret. Only the heirs of Miguel Pons Justo know the identity of the ingredients and their proportions. To protect the unique character of Xoriguer, those secret ingredients are always added to the still just before distillation begins, behind closed doors and without witnesses. A blend of wine alcohol and water is boiled in the copper still, to produce a vapour. The wine alcohol used has no taste of grapes or wine. It therefore absorbs the scent of wild juniper and other aromatics in a completely different way to grain-based gins, which is one of the keys to Xoriguer's unique flavour and aroma. The vapour passes through a copper basket in the neck of the still, which contains the botanicals; each time it passes through it becomes a little more infused with their distinctive scents and flavours. The vapour is carefully heated and cooled repeatedly, allowing it to pass through the berries and herbs several times. Only when it has become saturated with their flavour, is it allowed to condense within the coil, where it forms a clear liquid and drips into jars. The distillation is tasted by experts to ensure that its flavour is complete and to determine where to make "the cut". It is then stored in large oak barrels, where its colour, flavour and aroma remain unchanged until it is bottled.
Tasting note
Herbaceous palate, generous in juniper and smooth citric undertones round out its character. Long and light with soft memory of black pepper