Volcano Etna Dirty Gin: the first Sicilian gin with Nocellara dell’Etna olives and DOP Monte Etna oil
r s t S i c i l i a n g i n w i t h N o c e l l a r a d e l l ’ E t n a o l i v e s a n d D O P M o n t e E t n a o i l
Discover the new jewel in Volcano’s crown: dirty gin macerated and aged with unique ingredients from the Etna region, our volcanic version of the “Dirty Martini.”
We are excited to present to the world Volcano Etna Dirty Gin: the first gin macerated with Nocellara dell’Etna olives in brine and refined with Monte Etna DOP extra virgin olive oil. A tribute to the Etna region and a nod to a legendary drink: the dirty martini.
The label bears the words “with Extra Vergin d’oliva Monte Etna DOP” thanks to a concession issued by MASAF (Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry). And this is the first time that the name of an olive cultivar has stood out on the packaging of a gin with the designation recognized by its governing body. It was Etna’s biodiversity that has inspired us since 2016 with Volcano Etna Dry Gin, the first gin from Etna that tells the story of the volcanic territory with the use of botanicals from the world’s coolest volcanic territory.
Thus, the latest ‘drinking jewel’ from the Volcano house, after Volcano Etna Dry Gin and Volcano Etna Rosé Gin, a tribute to Etna’s wine tradition and the Nerello Mascelese grape variety, is precisely the gin that celebrates Nocellara dell’Etna DOP, a highly prized cultivar that can be used as a table olive or as a variety from which to extract one of the most highly prized oils for its organoleptic characteristics. The new product, Volcano Etna Dirty Gin, enriches the artisanal production of the company born in the town of Santa Venerina, within the ancient distillery “Cavalier Giuffrida” of Mastro Mariano.
Gin Producers, Storytellers of Etna in the World
“Etna captivates the world with its magnetism, but its beauty lies in the rich biodiversity it offers. For us, it is an inexhaustible source of inspiration, and our new gin enhances one of its most prized fruits, the Nocellara olive from Etna,” says Alessandro Malfitana. “As drink lovers, we then wanted to pay homage to the legendary dirty Martini, popularly known as the ‘dirty Martini’ or ‘brine Martini,’ a Vodka Martini to which a little olive brine liquid is added, which softens the cocktail by transforming it altogether. But why not do it with gin?we thought to ourselves. And that’s how our Volcano Etna Dirty Gin was born, basically the legendary ready-to-drink drink, but with the right olives, the ones that our Mamma Etna gives us, thus giving it a specifically territorial connotation.”
The savory encounter with Etna’s Nocellara olives and Monte Etna PDO oil.
Nocellara dell’Etna DOP olives seasoned in the traditional brine recipe are macerated with the Volcano Etna Dry Gin mass, then a further step takes place with a small percentage of extra virgin oil that gives a spicy and veiledly spicy note. The result is a blend with unique traits, with scents and aromas derived from the raw material from which it originates. In the fruit of Nocellara dell’Etna DOP, organoleptic characteristics include hints of green tomato, dried fruit and artichoke that tie in with the base of Volcano Gin, with its floral notes of broom, juniper berries and wild fennel. It took 38 trials to arrive at the perfect recipe. “That’s not a lot compared to how many it took for our first product. In this case, we were soon satisfied,” says Malfitana. He adds, “Once again, we focused on exclusive packaging embellished with our unparalleled handcrafted volcanic stopper. The pumice stone brought to a very high temperature develops a white coloration, extracting the mineral sulfur component and once crushed we are able to have our lava compound that also in this circumstance allows a little piece of Etna to travel with every single bottle of Volcano Etna Dirty Gin, wherever it goes, flies or stays.”
The result is certainly volcanic, like the launch commercial shot in Taormina, pearl of the Ionian Sea that looks out from the sea to Mount Etna, in perfect 007 style. The reference is always to the iconic drink that was celebrated by the famous line of Sean Connery, as James Bond, who in the movie “Agent 007 a Waterfall of Diamonds,” states “Shaken, not stirred.” The three “agents” move with their latest “drinking joy” through the streets of the city founded in 358 B.C., while in the final scene a woman laughs, mockingly smug, with cocktail in hand.
The limited and numbered edition bottles, with their sophisticated design and original caps made of a mixture of volcanic sand have an initial production run of 5,000 pieces.
