Xoriguer Gin, 70 cl

Product Information

If there’s one sauce capable of beating ketchup as the world’s most popular, it must be mayo. It’s found in virtually any country on earth, served in both fast food eateries and white-tablecloth restaurants. Mayonnaise is often believed to have originated in France, but it’s in fact more likely to have originated in the port town of Mahon, capital of Menorca, in Spain’s Balearic Islands. According to a 19th-century French dictionary by scholar Émile Littré, it was born there as “Mahonnaise”, at a time when the French, Spanish and British empires were fighting over the dominion of the archipelago. The island had a Jewish population. [4] The Letter on the Conversion of the Jews by a fifth-century bishop named Severus tells of the forced conversion of the island's 540 Jewish men and women in AD 418. [5] Several Jews, including Theodore, a rich representative Jew who stood high in the estimation of his coreligionists and of Christians alike, underwent baptism. The act of conversion brought about, within a previously peaceful coexisting community, the expulsion of the ruling Jewish elite into the bleak hinterlands, the burning of synagogues, and the gradual reinstatement of certain Jewish families after the forced acceptance of Christianity, allowing the survival of those Jewish families who had not already perished. [4] Many Jews secretly retained their Jewish faith while outwardly professing Christian beliefs. Some of these Jews form part of the Xueta community. a b Elukin, Jonathan M. Living Together, Living Apart: Rethinking Jewish-Christian Relations in the Middle Ages. Vol. Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the ancient to the modern world. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2007.

Gin has lengthy been the island’s official spirit. Manufacturing in Menorca is exclusive to the Balearic Islands, and stems from its historic hyperlinks with Britain, which dominated for a lot of the 18th century. Distilling the spirit from wine, Menorcans started making gin for sailors to devour within the port’s bars—and saved doing so after the fleet lastly sailed away for the final time in 1802. For one, who knew that gin was invented by the Dutch? (And since I had no idea who had invented it, why should any answer surpriseme?) The History of Gin in Britain The original recipe looked at the gin made in the Netherlands to develop what will become the gin of Mahon. We only use one botanical, juniper, which is more similar to the Dutch style,” says Camps, quoting recent research that proves how trade with the Dutch had a significant impact on the development of Mahon’s gin style.While mixing gin with lemon juice is hardly novel, pomada stands apart for its inherently sharable nature. It is, first and foremost, a party drink. While pomada can be made as an individual serving—some bars simply pour gin and lemon soda over ice and garnish with a lemon slice—few people do so. Instead, it’s prepared as a batch to be shared with others. But only in summer. Once mid-September hits, pomada simply disappears. Yet for those three or four sunny months, the drink reigns supreme. Abulafia, David (2007). "The Last Muslims in Italy". Dante Studies, with the Annual Report of the Dante Society. 125 (125): 271–287. JSTOR 40350668. Camps argues that Xoriguer’s artisanal method lends the gin ageing potential. “After one year, the taste starts to develop, you get more of the juniper and the lemon character drops a little,” he says. The romantically imprecise production method, and vintage variations in the character of the juniper, mean that the gin’s profile might vary slightly from batch to batch, too: “If you drink our gin now and a different bottle next year, the taste will be different. That’s mostly because of our old-style method, but also because the juniper is always different.” Xoriguer gin uses a grape based spirit infused with juniper berries and a secret, aromatic blend of herbs and “floral botanicals.” I hate gin or so I thought but trying the gin in Menorca was a revelation. I loved it. Admittedly it must be over twenty years since I last tried it (when it simply tasted to me how a bottle of perfume must taste). I have also found in recent years that some food that I didn’t use to like, such as avocados and nuts, I now enjoy. With this in mind I can’t be certain whether it is my taste buds that have changed or whether Menorcan gin is simply different. What is certain though is that I love Menorcan Gin, in particular when mixed with two-thirds lemonade, a popular, refreshing drink known a Pomada. I have been warned though that it is deceptively strong and should be drunk with caution.

No, it was a combination of the island’s pride and the trip down the rabbit hole of history that truly took me by surprise. In support of his theory, Camps mentions that the island’s historical registers record a significant inbound juniper trade, “but with nothing going out… we didn’t have that many people to ever need all that juniper for ourselves,” he says.The third day sees intense competition between the riders in a harmless form of jousting that involves spearing a suspended ring with a lance at considerable speed. The festes are brought to a close with a firework display. We had a wonderful variety of dishes, some of which are pictured below, all washed down with a delicious local wine. A must for any seafood lover is a visit to one of the island’s fish market in Mahón or Ciutadella. Seafood is a popular feature in Menorcan cuisine. Look out for the red prawns which are reputedly among the best in the world. The markets are open from 8am to 1.30pm except on Sunday and Monday or in bad weather when the fishing boats have not been able to go out. Xoriguer takes its name from a windmill built in 1784 (you can still see the picture on the label.) Senor Miguel Pons Justo started the brand in the 1900s, naming it after the mill that used to grind wheat for his family. Why Gin is Important in Menorca

Gregory, Desmond (1990). Minorca, the Illusory Prize: A History of the British Occupations of Minorca between 1708 and 1802. Cranbury, New Jersey, US: Associated University Presses, Inc. p.132. ISBN 0-8386-3389-7.

Xoriguer Mahon Gin Details

In the Mahón market, as well as the stalls selling a huge variety of scaled and shelled edible delights, part of it has been has been transformed into a series of small eateries selling tapas and speciality beers. The atmosphere is vibrant and a little hectic,a fabulous place to rub shoulders with the locals and get a real feel for island life.