Elena Penna

Cuneo

Why produce gin, herbal liqueur and vermouth in Piedmont, and what's more in the hills of the Langhe of Barolo, one of the most celebrated winegrowing areas in the world and a Unesco heritage site? Quite simply because these products are an old local tradition with roots going as far back as the Middle Ages. And because distilled spirits, herbal liqueurs and vermouths have been produced by the Penna and Currado Vietti families for generations.

Elena's family used to make and sell them as part of their long-standing involvement in the hospitality sector. For her and her family, what has come to be known today as mixology was a tradition and part of their everyday life. Luca's father Alfredo Currado, on the other hand, worked in the 1950s as a winemaker with famous local producers of vermouth and amaro before he and his wife Luciana Vietti took over the running of her family's winery. Elena and Luca's passion for this world was therefore passed down through their respective families.

Today, following years of research and experimentation they have rediscovered and revived this tradition. Only native herbs sourced locally in the Langhe and the Piedmontese Alps, and picked by hand. With the rediscovery of an 18th-century wood-fired still and the help of a vastly-experienced master distiller, new life has been breathed back into long-lost, age-old recipes from both their own families and the cultural heritage of Piedmont.

The ambitious idea is to produce unique, top-end products with no modern concentrates or extracts, artisanally crafted in keeping with the formulas using just natural, organic and eco-sustainable ingredients. Artisanally crafted Classic London Dry Gin with an Italian character: the Langa style. It boasts a typical juniper-lead flavor profile, with a touch of citrus and rooty/herbal finish. The small batches are produced using two wood-fired pot stills from the 18th century that were refurbished for this gin's production. The botanicals are gently infused in the pot stills and the gin is lightly filtered using natural paper, which results in the product retaining a slight yellow hue from the botanicals and the wood-fired still. No synthetic flavorings, essential oils or colorants are used. Given its profile, Elena Gin presents as a perfect ingredient for many classic gin-based cocktails, from the quintessential martini, to the timeless negroni.