I know what you’re thinking. Gin is as British as Big Ben. And yet the story in how Gin was invented has been blurred over time.

Some say its origins come from a Dutch spirit called ‘genever’. But what if we at Campania Wines told you that it’s only partly true? ‘Genever’, itself may have had a predecessor, and it was most likely to have come from the Campania region of Salerno.

During the 11th-century, a collection of books under the name ‘Compendium Salernita’ included a recipe for a tonic wine infused with juniper berries. Italian monks mixed juniper berries and cuttings with other locally sourced ingredients to make their own, homemade spirit. Italy is one of the many homes of juniper, which has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times.

During the arrival of the Plague several centuries later, the concoction may have even been used as an attempt to ward off the illness.

Distillation spread from Italy through to Northern Europe, when during the 16th Century, distillation had been mastered, and the 1st Gin revolution had arrived. Fast forward to the 21st Century and the 2nd Gin revolution, and to Staibano, masters of Amalfi Limoncello and Limoncello Smooth have introduced Amalfi Gin with a hint of lemon. A perfect match for tonic or a gin Martini.

Gin Martini

Ingredients

• 4 parts Amalfi Gin
• 1 part dry Vermouth
• Cracked Ice
• Cocktail Shaker
• Making the drink

Place the cracked ice, Amalfi Gin & Vermouth in the cocktail shaker
Cap the shaker & shake until the drink is completely mixed
Pour through a straining lid into a chilled Martini glass (20 minutes in the freezer should be fine)
Garnish with a twist of lemon

Staibano Positano Gin