GinBey Gin - Lebanese Gin

With his expertise as the producer of Lebanon's leading brand of Arak, Faouzi Issa already has many years of distilling experience. For GinBey he uses a mix of 14 botanicals, from the traditional base of juniper and corriander seeds to other ingredients such as citrus, florals and spices which are all sourced from Lebanon. Part of the botanicals are steeped 24 hours before distillation in a 400-litre copper still which is heated by a steam jacket to keep the temperature steady. The more volatile botanicals such as tilia and rose petals, and pomegranate seeds are placed in a basket for a more delicate extraction. The final gin is rested in traditional amphora jars for 6 months, ensuring a remarkable finesse and roundness to its taste. Serve over ice with a sprig of rosemary or a twist of sweet orange. (Vegan) About the producer; Domaine des Tourelles was founded in 1868 by French adventurer François-Eugène Brun and is one of the most highly acclaimed and oldest wineries still operating in Lebanon. It was also the first commercial cellar in 'modern' Lebanon to produce wines, arak and other spirits. This place has history! The Brun family owned and ran the winery up until the last descendant died in 2003 but luckily two local families - the Issa and Issa el-Khoury families - joined forces to buy the property and continue the fine tradition of winemaking.Today, this Bekaa Valley estate is run by the three Issa children - twins Faouzi and Johanne and their sister Christiane, alongside Emile Issa-el Khoury, son of one of the co-owners. This young and dynamic combination have introduced a handful of practices in the vineyards and cellar including the use of indigenous natural yeasts, no fining or filtering, and only very small amounts of sulphur. These techniques along with fruit from 40 hectares of ancient, organically cultivated and dry-farmed vineyards (among the oldest in the valley) and a winery perfect for hands-off winemaking, make Domaine des Tourelles one of the finest boutique wineries in the Middle East.