Gin does not like any fuss and this is the first thing you comprehend if you have ever watched it being made. The spirit must be allowed to gather patience and the juniper must be granted time to pass on its character unhurriedly, whilst the master waits, neither rushing nor urging. It was exactly like this, without fuss, that SAVALAN-ASPI Winery’s gin was born, and exactly like this, without fanfare, that it has taken two awards in a row this year as if it knew all along that it deserved them and had merely been waiting for the right moment.
The silver medal was won at IWSC (International Wine & Spirit Competition) in London first – there where beverages from all over the world have been assessed with dispassionate rigour for many years. Bottles reach the jury without labels, without names, without any allowance for indulgence. Ninety points for our gin are an assessment not of origin or history but of taste and taste alone. The jury found in SAVALAN-ASPI Winery’s London Dry Gin an interesting interplay of citrus and herbaceous notes behind which unfolds a warm spiciness – something akin to cinnamon or nutmeg, and a succulent citrus freshness. The texture is creamy, unexpectedly soft for a gin whereas the finish is long, complex and bears a faint tropical hint that seems to appear almost by accident, right at the very end, like an afterword to a good story.
The gold at the World Gin Awards followed and, also there, two titles were won: the best gin of the London Dry Gin competition and the best gin of Azerbaijan, full stop. That was where one does not think of reserve because it is so nice when acclaim comes your way not only from foreign judges but also from your own country where gin is not really the most traditional drink, to be frank. Yes, the local eyes are more accustomed to vineyards than to juniper growth. Still, SAVALAN-ASPI Winery showed once again that true art will not ask to see its raw material’s passport.
One might say, of course, that it is all down to the Savalan air, the water flowing down from the mountains, the traditions that are so devoutly honoured here. Or one might put it more simply: it is down to the people who make gin the way they would make wine – with attention and care, without cutting corners and knowing full well that taste cannot be deceived and cannot be coaxed. It is either there, or it is not, and that is the way of it. The botanicals and citrus, the texture, the works – they are all true to themselves and to the truth. And the jury turned out to be as true, never mind if they were in London or judged on an international level.
Two awards in one year is no accident; rather, it is proof of something that had been crystal clear to anyone who had tasted this gin. SAVALAN-ASPI Winery has never promised a revolution but has been doing its work well and, well, the world was surprisingly quick to sit up and take notice.
One thing remains to be done: pour it in your glass, take your time and make sure that the jury’s scores, whether coming from London or Baku, are no exaggeration at all.
Awards are forgotten sooner than their holders would like; certificates get discoloured and medals tarnish. But taste and quality, the genuine ones, mind, outlive both ceremonies and the very occasion that prompted the uncorking of the bottle. Sooner or later, few will remember which year was marked by silver and which by gold, but someone will still pour themselves a glass and simply think: ‘Well made…’
And that, perhaps, is the only kind of medal that will never lose its sheen!..