Príncipe de los Apóstoles Mate Gin
Minty, with no frills
- Country
- Argentina
- Alcohol
- 40.5%
- Bottle size
- 700 ml
- Producer
- Sol de los Andes S.A.
- In short
- Mint and yerba mate
- Botanicals
- Yerba mate, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Pink grapefruit peel, Coriander seed
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Aromacode®
- 1 Pine, 28 of 100
- 2 Citrus, 4 of 100
- 3 Fruits, 15 of 100
- 4 Blossoms, 21 of 100
- 5 Grass, 11 of 100
- 6 Herbs, 58 of 100
- 7 Wood, 9 of 100
- 8 Spices, 2 of 100
- 9 Sharpness, 32 of 100
The Aromacode® shows how strongly each aroma comes through. The larger the wedge, the stronger the aroma. Numbers match the list.
About this bottle
Background and ingredients
This is said to be one of Argentina's best gins, a claim I can repeat but can't confirm without others to compare it with. It was created by <strong>mixologist Renato "Tato" Giovannoni</strong>, whose bar has twice won the title of South America's best. He studied design and initially worked in his father's restaurant, but that didn't prove quite so ‘compatible’, as he said in an interview. He's worked in various bars and restaurants, including some of the most fashionable in Buenos Aires. He's also worked, and continues to work, as a cocktail-menu consultant for local, national and international businesses such as Gaucho.
His own gin, with ties to Argentina
When he began creating his own drinks range, gin was an option because, as he says, a visit to a London distillery had got him hooked. But from the outset, he wanted to give his gin a distinctly Argentine touch. One way he did that was by adding perhaps the most Argentine drink of all: yerba mate tea.
That's also the story behind the name. Príncipe de los Apóstoles is the town where the Jesuits established the first yerba mate plantation. They accompanied the Spanish on their conquests through South America to spread Christianity. The so-called capital of yerba mate thus provides both the name and the Argentine connection.
Botanicals in Príncipe de los Apóstoles Mate Gin
Alongside yerba mate and, of course, juniper berries, the maceration includes eucalyptus and the peel of pink pomelo, a cross between orange and grapefruit. Coriander seed and peperina leaves are added too. Peperina is a kind of mint similar to our native varieties, but it also contains essential oils found in lemons, oranges, thyme and oregano.
Made in small batches
The gin is distilled in batches of around 200 litres in a copper still in the Argentine highlands. Before that, the botanicals are macerated individually and then filtered. Afterwards, they're brought together and allowed some time in contact with the air before bottling begins. This ‘breathing’ apparently makes the gin a little mellower.
You don't often get the chance to enjoy a gin from Argentina. As the name suggests, Príncipe de los Apóstoles Mate Gin is also unusual because yerba mate isn't a common botanical in gin.