Old Pilot's Gin
Croatia
Native Croatians Tomislav Anadolac and Hrvoje Bušić trained together as military pilots near Zadar in the mid ‘90s. Their passion for flying combined with a love for the finest spirits inspired them to establish their own Zagreb microdistillery in 2016, “Duh u Boci” (The Spirit in the Bottle). Their first product could have been a whisky, but the cashflow implications of the long maturation process convinced them to take a fresh look at the gin category instead, and produce something genuinely unique, after all the Croatian mountains are home to reputedly the world’s best juniper. Their efforts were quickly recognised by the IWSC who awarded them the London Dry Gin Trophy in 2019, followed by a gold medal at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
London Dry Gin
The base spirit is distilled with selected Croatian botanicals such as juniper and sage from Mount Velebit, lavender from Hvar island, bitter orange peel from Korcula, angelica root, and olive leaves from Mount Biokovo. It’s without cold filtration. On the nose there are aromas of fresh juniper berries, complemented by earthy notes and Mediterranean sage. On the palate there are earthy notes combined with sage and citrus. This gin has a long dry, earthy finish with hints of sage and olive leaves.
Barrel Aged Gin
After distillation the gin is rested in five different barrels, split between American and Croatian oak. They differ by volume and toasting/charring levels, each giving their own signature and complexity to the final spirit. As you’d expect, the American oak lends sweet, smoky vanilla whilst the Croatian oak adds bitterness and dry fruit tones. Old Pilot’s Barrel Aged Gin is perfect in cocktails but extraordinary on its own as well, served neat in a rosemary-smoked glass.