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LA REPUBLICA GIN - LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
GIDDY HEIGHTS
Review of: LA REPUBLICA GIN - LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
Part of my #virtualworldgintour on Instagram
(Day 26)
I am loving this tour of my collection and sharing stories with you all every day. Having to cover so much ground and research so many different gins means I don't have time to connect with every brand - even though I would love to, it's just impossible, so I plod along doing my desk research! However, I am extremely grateful to Anahi and Daniel at La República, who last week offered me an amazing zoom tour of their distillery in La Paz with follow up zoom chat to ensure I had all my facts right! I feel so privileged to have had a look around to learn more about how they do things there, and I'm now more in awe of this brand than I was before!
There are few gin distilleries who can claim to be the highest in the world! La Paz is the world's highest capital city, sitting at a giddy 3600m above sea level, so I think it's safe to say, they probably win, but how does this affect distillation?
Altitude affects the boiling points of water and alcohol and so distillation is at a much lower temperature than at sea level. The thin air allows a much gentler distillation, using less heat, making it easier to separate (make cuts) aromatics from bad congeners, which is exactly what we want in a gin - just the hearts! We see this a lot with distillers who use vacuum distillation - when pressure lowers, the boiling point lowers. The result is more intense flavours, as the slower distillation process enhances the flavours drawn out of the botanicals and the essential oils are less stressed by the lower heat. It's also important to use a good base spirit and La República are very particular about their sugar cane base. This is twice distilled and rectified by 1825Vodka, who they collaborate with locally, to ensure the lowest quantities of methanol remain in their base spirit but even so, they still make generous cuts to ensure only the best part of the distillate is kept. They reuse the heads as cleaning products and treat the remaining tails before disposing of them. Every process is carefully considered and they control every aspect of their product - from sourcing right through to bottling and labelling, which they do themselves onsite at their distillery.
The two minds behind the first gin made using Amazonian botanicals, are Bolivian born Daniel Lonsdale and Catalonian Joan Carbó. Before they met, Daniel was working in the family business but he was unceremoniously fired by his father, Tommy Lonsdale, given their differing opinions on how to run a business and so he returned to university to complete his degree. Joan, a keen distiller and student of oenology had followed his girlfriend (a close friend of Daniel's) back to La Paz and had fallen in love with Bolivia and all the amazing botanicals. He shared with Daniel a dream to use these plants and fruits to distill unique spirits at altitude and create a tribute to this beautiful country.
It was the perfect collaboration and project for the friends to embark upon. Daniel's family has a long history in the drinks industry and started making sodas in 1889. This evolved to include spirits, which were distributed throughout South America, but Destileria Boliviana was sold to a bigger producer in 1989. His grandfather, Jorge Lonsdale, produced some of Bolivia's first gin and whisky, but from imported botanicals and his great great grandmother, was instrumental in bringing Coca Cola to Bolivia in 1942. Daniel was keen to follow in his late grandfather's footsteps, but to produce an Andean gin that would make Bolivia proud. With Joan's distilling experience and energy, as well as all their joint savings, they set about producing their first product - a spicy brandy called Supay. This impressed a friend so much, he invested in their business, Master Blends, offering them the funds to purchase their first still from Europe.
After a rocky start, with their beloved still catching fire on their first distillation, two years later in 2014, they managed to launch their first expression, Andina. This expression as the name implies, captures the essence of the Andes and uses botanicals which are local and easily sourced. Juniper is balanced alongside the other botanicals used, but it has Bolivia at its heart, ensuring it is distinctly different from European gin.
Inspired by the smell of the jungle and trying to replicate its atmosphere, a second expression, Amazónica was created. The botanicals for this are carefully selected from a very complex chain of suppliers, but also in the most environmentally-friendly way possible. They use 8 Amazonian botanicals and aim to support the local farmers and indigenous tribes by doing so. Included are cacao and acai, as well as bark from three different trees found only deep in the rainforest - each of which feature in local mythology and are collected and delivered to the distillery twice a year by local tribes. They had a delivery last week and I was able to see the different bark being laid out to dry - coming from the heart of the jungle, it was understandably soaking wet! The botanicals for both expressions are macerated for 24 hours and then distilled, resulting in award-winning spirits which are full of fruity and earthy surprises.
They have two 450 litre copper stills, which use an open flame and each one is used to distill a different expression. Andina is distilled in Llama and Amazónica in Jaguar. The macerated mix of fresh and dried botanicals takes about 8 hours to distill. All botanicals apart from juniper are sourced in Bolivia and as some of the fruits are seasonal, they also have to freeze some of the pulps, so that they can distill year round.
Together with Diego Nicolini, a prominent pisco producer and vineyard owner from Peru who came onboard around 2017, the business has the perfect trifecta and they have created an amazing range of spirits to date. This collaboration also benefited them a third jacketed still, which they use to double-distill a third gin expression - Master's Reserve. They also produce Yerbasanta vermouth and Cocolero de Altura, which although contains juniper, is not marketed as gin and is made for Irish brand, Intrepid Spirits. They are soon to release the first Premium Bolivian Tonic Water, as well as a Soda Water, named after Daniel's great great grandmother - Doña Maria - and produced for them by Prost. They have lots of exciting things in the pipeline, which includes a range of bitters and botanical packs, which will offer us the opportunity to understand more about the flavours and aromas of the botanicals included in their gin.
Their head office and distillery is in a residential area of La Paz. It's a colourful building, with beautiful graffiti murals adorning not only on the outside wall but also in the courtyard and building. These reflect the origins of their brand and pay homage to the Llama, Jaguar and the beautiful surrounding Cordillera Real, from which they source glacial water used in the making of their beautifully fragrant gins.
Their gin bottle is simple, yet beautiful. The pattern is not just geometric; it is a symbol of South America - the Andean Cross or Chacana. It is a compass, a calendar and the 4 main points represent the main stars in the Southern Cross. The crest is crowned with 3 stars - representing not just the 3 levels of existence but also the 3 owners. The Condor replaced the Llama in their rebranding and represents the Andes, while the Jaguar represents the Amazon - their gin expressions Andina and Amazónica. The mountains are the Cordillera Real, which I mentioned above. It's so well thought through - simple, yet says so much. Look closer to the lettering of La República - there's a mountain in there too. This is the stuff I love about brands - the things you don't always see at first, but when you learn about them or figure them out, they tell a story that is more powerful than words.
I was told I had to serve up the most popular cocktail they make with Amazónica - the GinJam. Gin, Syrup, Lemon Juice and hibiscus infusion and topped with soda. I did substitute a little with the syrup from my jar of hibiscus flowers, but it was delicious. What struck me most was that the gin was not lost in this cocktail like so many others are. If you haven't tried it yet, do try get your hands on a bottle - it's utterly delicious!
La República sells out fast here in the UK and although they are looking to expand availability in the UK and Europe, it is currently only available through @craftginclub in the UK!
Saludos y muchas gracias a Daniel y Anahi!
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“GinJam”
- 45 ml. Gin La República Amazónica
- 45 ml. Infusion of Jamaica Flowers (Hibiscus)
- 30 ml. Simple Syrup (adjust to suit your taste)
- 15 ml. Lemon Juice
Shake with ice and top with soda water
Garnish with a lemon peel and fresh hibiscus flowers.
“Chura”
- 45 ml. of Gin La República Amazónica
- 45 ml. lemongrass syrup
- 45 ml. of pineapple juice
- 1 dash of lemon juice
Shake with ice.
Garnish with a pineapple slice and mint.
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