The Spanish Claim To Pink Gin

With fresh strawberries infused into their gin, Puerto de Indias released the concept of flavoured gin to the world in 2013.

Puerto de Indias Gin. All pictures courtesy of the author.

​The main thing I’ve learnt about Pink Gin is that it is many things to many people. Where it comes from depends on what you think it is in the first place. There’s the mix of Angostura Bitters and Gin emitting a pink tinge which was used in the late 19th century as a cure for sea sickness among British Navy Sailors. Then there’s the simple addition of artificial colouring and flavouring to the pure gin spirit as I discovered through experimenting with my own gin.

If you’re looking for the world’s first authentic Pink Gin using natural ingredients for flavour however, you’ll find it in the marriage of gin and fresh strawberries mixed together at the Puerto de Indias Distillery since 2013.

Puerto de Indias Strawberry Gin is more than just the result of the innovation which created it and the courage which brought it to market. Its inventors were builders to trade. Brothers, Jose Antonio, and Francisco Rodriguez Fernandez bought the Puerto de Indias Distillery in 2008 and then came up with a unique way to flavour gin with fresh fruit. Their success in the gin trade came from a mix of innovation, determination, and passion.