Príncipe de los Apóstoles Mate Gin - New Western

The Príncipe de los Apóstoles Mate Gin is the creation of Argentina's most famous mixologist, Renato "Tato" Giovannoni, owner and bar manager of the Florería Atlantico bar in Buenos Aires, which is regularly confirmed as the best bar in Latin America and voted one of the 50 best bars in the world by the Drinks International expert jury. With the gin, he realized his lifelong dream a few years ago and created a tribute to the most Argentinian of all drinks - mate tea.

Príncipe de los Apóstoles Mate Gin is produced by distilling individually macerated solutions with juniper berries, fresh mate leaves, eucalyptus, peperina (a plant endemic only to Argentina that is aromatically reminiscent of mint), coriander seeds and the peel of pink grapefruit in a small (200 liter) copper still in the Argentine highlands.

Aromatically, the fresh impressions of eucalyptus and peperina are clearly in the foreground, which also set the tone when mixed in a gin and tonic or cocktail. Together with a hint of bitters from the mate leaves, the taste of the gin is also slightly reminiscent of dark chocolate with mint.

The impression is complemented by a slightly sweet, fruity component that comes from the grapefruit peel; classic gin-typical, resinous juniper aromas are only slightly pronounced.

Perfect as a refreshing gin and tonic and, of course, a pleasure on its own. However, it gets really exciting when you mix cocktails with the gin. The fresh, ethereal component transforms any classic gin drink into something new and exciting - combinations with citrus in particular, but coffee or chocolate flavors also work fantastically well.