Portofino Dry Gin comes from the hills above the Italian Riviera and is distilled with twenty-one Mediterranean botanicals, most of them grown or foraged in Liguria. Production runs across a retired grappa still and modern vacuum distillation, the latter preserving the more delicate herbs that heat would otherwise flatten.
Fresh lemon and crisp, resinous juniper lead. Behind them comes the coastal scrub: rosemary and lavender, then the softer, sweeter notes of marjoram and sage that read as unmistakably Ligurian. Gentle spice builds through the middle, with florals and citrus zest lingering in the background.
Dry, aromatic and distinctly herbal rather than sweet. It makes an elegant gin and tonic with a sprig of rosemary, and holds its shape beautifully in a martini or a negroni. The cobalt blue bottle, matched to the Ligurian sea, is worth keeping on the shelf.