This Alentejo gin was created and developed in 2018 in the village of Alagoa, a parish in the municipality of Portalegre, and was born to be savoured and toasted by a group of friends who, every fortnight, got together to have a snack, clear their heads and have a few drinks as a real family.
Distilled in small quantities in a traditional alembic, with a production of 200 bottles per batch, resulting in superior quality. Distilled from 9 botanicals, including juniper, coriander seeds, liquorice root, lemon zest, cardamom, fennel seeds, bay leaves, lemongrass and aniseed (the lemon, bay leaves and lemongrass are organically grown), carefully selected and combined during distillation. It can be drunk neat for the stronger palates or in the traditional way by adding tonic water, mint leaves and a lemon peel! Thursday Gin is already a national reference in Alto Alentejo.
We spoke to Duarte Martins, the mentor of this project, to find out more about his business.
DF: Duarte How did it all start and where did the idea of creating a gin come from?
DMIn fact, it all started at a friends' get-together I used to attend on Thursdays, and I was often challenged by them, "Hey, kid, what if we made a gin for our Thursday snacks?", and I'd reply, "That's not how it's done, anyway, but I promise I'll do some research and we'll talk about it later".
DFAnd what steps did you take to try?
DM: After many hours of research, I concluded that making a gin was quite complicated, and getting a recipe right without the knowledge of a good blend of botanicals, not to mention the limited conditions in which I worked, would certainly not go well. It would take a miracle for us to make something that came out right and drinkable on the first try. That's what I passed on to my friends and that was that.
DF: And what changed your mind?
DMDuring the phase when I gave up on the idea, I had absorbed a lot of information in my research and that's when I realised that I had to at least try again and... I couldn't give up any more. I knew that if I experimented with smaller quantities, different mixtures, various experiments and different ways of distilling, something would happen, something unique would be born.
DF: How long were you experimenting before you reached the final stage of the product?
DM: I spent about four months trying, making mistakes, correcting those mistakes, adding and removing botanicals...and finally something unique was born, I came up with a recipe and that's how the THURSDAY GIN.
DF: How do you define your product?
DM: Alentejo by Nature! It's a handmade gin, created and developed in Alagoa and distilled in Portalegre, with some botanicals from the garden!
DF: And what do you have in mind for the future of your gin?
DM: My goal will be, after five years, to be producing 5,000 bottles and discovering my own space. From there, I'm sure THURSDAY GIN will discover many other paths.
