Heidelberg Gin

Eau de Wald Gin offers a unique expe­ri­ence of nature in every bottle. With aromas of spruce, blos­so­ming elder­berry, refres­hing blueber­ries and crun­chy hazel­nuts, this gin embo­dies the magic of the forest. The com­bi­na­tion of mys­te­rious res­i­nous and warm floral notes makes it a spe­cial taste expe­ri­ence. The carefully sel­ec­ted bota­ni­cals such as spruce, eld­er­flower, hazel­nut and blueberry give the gin a unique diver­sity. To enjoy the full aroma of Eau de Wald gin, it is recom­men­ded to mix it either pure with soda or with Fever-Tree tonic water. Behind Eau de Wald is Kath­rin Chris­ti­ans, a cele­bra­ted musi­cian from Heidelberg, who com­ple­tely chan­ged her life due to a stroke of fate and the Corona Lock­down. She foun­ded her own brand, Eau de Wald – forest and nature to go. With her enthu­si­asm for gin and her close con­nec­tion to the Oden­wald, she began sear­ching for the per­fect ingre­di­ents and expe­ri­men­ting daily in her kit­chen. Kath­rin atta­ches great importance to sus­taina­bi­lity and dona­tes 1 euro to local refo­re­sta­tion for every 500 ml bottle of Eau de Wald gin sold. She is all about giving some­thing back to nature, as the main ingre­di­ents come directly from the Odenwald.

The 315 Ups­tairs Dry Gin is a hand­craf­ted gin made in a small manu­fac­tory by foun­der Chris­to­pher Wloka above the roof­tops of Heidelberg. With its plea­sant juni­per note, accom­pa­nied by fruity blueberry and fine aromas of ber­ga­mot, the 315 Ups­tairs Gin skilfully com­bi­nes tra­di­tio­nal and refres­hing fla­vour ele­ments. The gin sym­bo­li­ses the 315 steps from Heidelberg’s old town to the his­to­ric castle and offers a unique plea­sure expe­ri­ence. The carefully sel­ec­ted bota­ni­cals, inclu­ding hand-picked blueber­ries from the Black Forest and sun-ripened ber­ga­mots, give the gin a unique fruity note. A 72-hour mace­ra­tion pro­cess wit­hout arti­fi­cial fla­vours crea­tes a spe­cial spirit that serves as a ver­sa­tile mixer with floral top notes. The 315 Ups­tairs Dry Gin is best enjoyed with Fever Tree Medi­ter­ra­nean Tonic Water, fresh blueber­ries, lemon­grass and a lime zest to unleash its full potential.

Hortus Pala­ti­nus Heidelberg Gin is a per­fect blend of 11 dif­fe­rent herbs and spices. In addi­tion to the tra­di­tio­nal juni­per fla­vour, it delights with fresh notes of cucum­ber, roses and cori­an­der. Whe­ther enjoyed neat or used as a base for cock­tails, this gin is the ideal start to any suc­cessful party. Behind the Hortus Pala­ti­nus brand is Alex Wein & Spi­ri­tuo­sen, who use their exper­tise to express the agri­cul­tu­ral tra­di­tion of the Kraich­gau and Pala­ti­nate regi­ons in wines and liqueurs. The qua­lity and variety of their pro­ducts can easily com­pete with inter­na­tio­nal rivals.

The pro­duc­tion of gin invol­ves the distil­la­tion of neu­tral alco­hols with a blend of bota­ni­cals that give it its cha­rac­te­ristic fla­vour. Common bota­ni­cals include juni­per ber­ries, cori­an­der, citrus fruits (lemon, lime, orange, ber­ga­mot), spices and herbs or spe­cial ingre­di­ents such as rose petal, kaffir or blueberry. Depen­ding on the pro­duc­tion pro­cess, dif­fe­rent fla­vours, nuan­ces and styles of gin can be created.

The gin cul­ture in Heidelberg is lively and diverse. People in Heidelberg app­re­ciate the artis­a­nal pro­duc­tion of gin and the crea­ti­vity that goes into new types of gin and cock­tail crea­ti­ons. There are regu­lar gin events and tastings where you can learn more about the dif­fe­rent types of gin and dis­co­ver new taste experiences.

The history of gin goes back a long way and is clo­sely linked to the deve­lo­p­ment of distil­la­tion tech­ni­ques and the trade in spices. Ori­gi­nally, gin was pro­du­ced as a remedy before it deve­lo­ped into a popu­lar spirit that is now app­re­cia­ted world­wide. Let’s take a look at the fasci­na­ting history of gin. The ori­g­ins of gin can be traced back to the 11th cen­tury, when the Arabs brought the tech­ni­ques of distil­la­tion to Europe. At that time, distil­led alco­hol was mainly used for medi­cinal pur­po­ses to treat various dise­a­ses. Monks in monas­te­ries played an important role in the fur­ther deve­lo­p­ment of distil­la­tion tech­ni­ques and the pro­duc­tion of distil­la­tes. Over time, the distil­led alco­hol was fla­vou­red with a variety of herbs and spices to improve the taste and enhance the medi­cinal effect. One of the ear­liest known recipes for a gin-like potion dates back to the 12th cen­tury and was deve­lo­ped by a monk named Ber­nardo Vin­celli in Italy. These early gins were called “gen­ever” and had a simi­lar base to today’s gin. In the 16th cen­tury, gin began to spread to the Net­her­lands, where it became popu­lar under the name “Gen­ever”. At that time, the Net­her­lands was a major tra­ding part­ner for spices and bota­ni­cal ingre­di­ents. Trade in spices such as juni­per ber­ries, cori­an­der and ange­lica root led to the deve­lo­p­ment of new fla­vours and recipes for gen­ever. In the 17th cen­tury, jen­ever began to make its way to Eng­land when Dutch sol­diers were sta­tio­ned in Bri­tain during the Thirty Years’ War. At that time, jen­ever was alre­ady known as a popu­lar spirit and was brought back by the sol­diers. In Eng­land, the name “gen­ever” was sim­pli­fied to “gin” and gin quickly began to gain popu­la­rity. The popu­la­rity of gin in Eng­land rea­ched its peak in the 18th cen­tury. At this time, gin was acces­si­ble to the gene­ral popu­la­tion due to its simple and inex­pen­sive pro­duc­tion. Gin became a popu­lar drug and led to a period known as the “Gin Craze”. Exces­sive con­sump­tion of low-qua­lity gin led to social pro­blems and heavy regu­la­tion of gin pro­duc­tion. In the 19th cen­tury, the pro­duc­tion of gin in Eng­land was regu­la­ted by law and higher qua­lity gins came onto the market. Distil­le­ries also began to deve­lop new recipes and fla­vours at this time. The diver­sity of gin increased and dif­fe­rent regio­nal styles and tra­di­ti­ons emer­ged. In the UK, London Dry Gin deve­lo­ped into one of the best known and most app­re­cia­ted gin styles in the world. Throug­hout the 20th cen­tury, gin expe­ri­en­ced ups and downs. In the 1920s, gin was popu­lar in the US during Pro­hi­bi­tion because it was easy to make at home. In the fol­lo­wing deca­des, howe­ver, gin took a bit of a back seat as other spi­rits such as whisky and vodka gained popu­la­rity. In recent deca­des, howe­ver, gin has made an impres­sive come­back. With the rise of the craft spi­rits move­ment and the gro­wing inte­rest in arti­san pro­ducts, gin has also come back to the fore. More and more distil­le­ries around the world are dedi­ca­ted to pro­du­cing high-qua­lity gins with a variety of bota­ni­cal ingre­di­ents and inte­res­t­ing fla­vours. Today, there is an almost end­less variety of gins from dif­fe­rent count­ries and regi­ons. From tra­di­tio­nal London Dry Gins to exotic gins with native bota­ni­cals to expe­ri­men­tal gins with unu­sual fla­vours – the choice is huge. Gin has deve­lo­ped into an extre­mely ver­sa­tile spirit that is per­fect for cock­tails and mixed drinks. The history of gin is one of inno­va­tion, com­merce and cul­tu­ral influence. From its humble begin­nings as a medi­cinal remedy to its world­wide popu­la­rity, gin has become a spirit app­re­cia­ted by many. With its rich history and end­less pos­si­bi­li­ties for crea­ti­vity and fla­vour, gin offers a fasci­na­ting jour­ney for all spirit lovers.