Tasting

Tasting Gin de Mahón, what strikes you first is what's missing: no citrus note, no coriander, no licorice. What remains is juniper in its purest form, resinous, faintly needle-like, with a dry sharpness reminiscent of freshly cut pine.

Because the botanical regulation is so narrow, there's really only one product that can be called Gin de Mahón: the gin from the Xoriguer distillery, the sole producer permitted to use the name. Other houses on the island make gin without the protected designation and can work more freely with botanicals.

A neutral glass with some room above works well for tasting, letting the juniper aroma unfold. Smelling the gin neat before tasting makes it easier to notice how clear and single-minded the aroma is compared to botanical-heavy gins.

Some connoisseurs claim to detect a faint, elusive spice behind the juniper from the Pons family's secret herb addition; others notice nothing of the sort. Since the recipe stays secret, this can't be confirmed, only tasted for yourself.

A small sip of water between tastings helps reset the palate. For Menorcans, this hardly matters anyway: they almost always drink their gin mixed, not analyzed in a glass.

Golden hour at the port of Mahón makes for a fine setting for a first taste: calm light, no noise, just the quiet clink of ice in a neighboring glass of Pomada. Anyone going on about vanilla notes or cask influence is looking at the wrong gin. This one stays deliberately, purely about juniper.