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The gin from the Dolomites intrigues the experts.
The Alchemist At the Plunhof farm near the Dolomitic village of Siusi, Florian Rabanser produces one of the best Dry Gins in the world. Amazing? It is true, DolGin gin is made exclusively from berries, spices and herbs that grow in the Dolomites – and the alchemy seems to work! And, believe it or not, this gin of the Dolomites has even won prizes in London – the holy grail of gin awards.
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lorian Rabanser is by trade a hotel owner but his real forte lies in the production of distillates. Florian’s passion began with the purchase of a small fourteenth century farmhouse, a heritage building that he transformed into a model farm complex. At first it served as a horse farm, before he got to know some friends that produced excellent home-brewed distillates. And at this point he knew what he had to do: with help from experts from across Europe he brushed up his knowledge on the subject and acquired the skills needed to set up his own distillery. Nowadays, his cellar is fitted out with high quality copper stills, utensils for maceration as well as all kinds of cauldrons and barrels of different shapes and sizes for experimenting, preserving and refining. Florian experiments in a number of ways: with great craftsmanship, dexterity and passion, he transforms the marc obtained from the best wineries in the district into a fine aromatic grappa and the fruits and berries that have been ripened under the South Tyrol sun mutate into noble bran-
dies. He has even succeeded in the difficult task of maturing wine vinegar into precious balsamic! His perseverance and skill is regularly rewarded: his high quality distillates have received awards at numerous specialist fairs, including Distillata in Vienna and Salzburg as well as the Alambicco d’Oro in Italy.
Gin of the Dolomites. A new and entirely unexpected development took place in London last year when his latest creation, DolGin, took the British by surprise and Florian Rabanser was awarded the Silver medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC), after a blind tasting. Competing against hundreds of gins from all over the world, it was said that the best gin comes from South Tyrol! Florian notes that the Gold medal was not awarded at all and his gin hit the top score in the Silver category. For him, this success was the culmination of a steep learning curve in a challenging new venture: “For two years, I struggled to find the right blend,” he explained. In addition to the obligatory »
Text: Rosa Maria Erlacher Photo: Helmuth Rier
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Florian Rabanser’s passion and his distillery of high quality grappas
juniper berries, dried herbs from all over the world are used in gin production, to give the product the right aroma and the exact degree of roundness, depending on the mixture. However, Florian wanted to try things his way: he decided to only use herbs from the Dolomites. And there is a vast choice to be had: how was he to know which of the natural ingredients among the plentiful high Alpine flora would yield the right flavour, striking that fine balance between the typical harshness and bitterness of the base combined with a gentle after-taste, which distinguishes a good gin? In the end, he settled on 24 aromatic herbs, known as the
others, the sun is necessary. One also needs considerable traditional knowledge that the old farmers had and handed down through the generations. Valuable knowledge of the right ingredients is needed to be able to produce home-brewed bitters or herbal distillates only for therapeutic purposes.
botanicals, which were distilled with the cereal-based alcohol. Amongst these are gentian root, mountain yarrow, angelica root, wild aniseed and cumin, barberry and elderflower and rose hip to counterbalance a slight sweetness. The only exception to the rule is dried lemon peel, which, explains Florian, has now become obligatory and which comes from Lake Garda.
Finally, the macerated herbs are added to the stills and distilled at low temperatures to preserve the aroma. Complex filtering systems ensure the clarity and purity of the distillate at 45% vol.
Original Recipe. For the initial support he needed for his complicated experiments, Florian contacted a pharmacist friend. “Since many high mountain herbs possess extremely complex and effective medicinal properties, it is better to have a real expert by your side”, Florian confided to us. Some herbs only release their aromatic components into a water solution, while others yield their essences only via alcohol. For some, maceration works only in the shade while for
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Depending on the botanical varieties, two to three weeks are needed for the aromatic properties of the herbs and dried spices to be extracted in alcohol or water. The water must be pure and absolutely free of minerals and is taken from a spring in Senales Valley.
Thumbs Up. Florian’s Dolomite Gin has already become a legend in its own right. The modern appearance of the transparent, rounded bottle with the gentian coloured label, reflects the authenticity of the product. The prestigious Gambero Rosso wine guide gave it a glowing write-up, while the product itself can be found in some of the most celebrated bars in Rome, Vienna and Munich. And for once, the old saying that “no one is considered a prophet in his homeland” has been disproven since, even in South Tyrol, the gin with a Dolomite pedigree has won over numerous admirers. «