What is a premium gin?

Discussing “premium gin” or the “best gin” is no easy task. Here at Conde Lumar, we believe what defines a gin as “premium” is quality and purity together.

To produce the best blue, pink or violet gin, we start with a quality juniper berry that has been meticulously selected, and is then mashed in pure alcohol using artisanal techniques.

The still is the distinctive element in distillation. Our traditional copper stills, which date back to the beginning of the 19th century, distil at a low temperature and they act as an excellent purifier to get the best out of distillation. We still the alcohol five times to obtain optimal purity, therefore ensuring that the alcohol does not dominate the natural botanicals. Conde Lumar includes the entire concentration of distilled alcohol, meaning 40%. The company produces only 60 bottles per day and they are filled, labelled, and the gold subsequently added, by hand.

The world’s biggest gin brands perform a maximum of three distillations. In their factories they use a large fractioning column that allows them to achieve large production: they can bottle up to 5,000 bottles each day. They include artificial botanicals at the expense of scent and flavour, and they only contribute 2% of the alcohol distilled to their bottles.