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Premium Malfy GDQI aims to bring Italian sunshine to UK gin category

Published:  10 March, 2016

Premium Italian gin Malfy GQDI has launched in the UK - backed the claim that Italy is the true homeland of gin.

Gin was first invented by Italian monks on the Salerno coast in the 11th century using locally foraged juniper  - ginepro, in Italian - Malfy brand owner Biggar & Leith believes.

"We were researching the history of gin - and there it was, staring us in the face; gin was invented in Italy - long before the British or Dutch," Biggar & Leith founder Elwyn Gladstone said.  

"However, it wasn't until we tasted the Vergnano family's Malfy GQDI that we knew we had found a gin that represents the literal distillation of Italian quality, culture and craftsmanship."

The first batch of Malfy shipped in the UK at the beginning of March but sold out within a week.

It is being distributed in the UK through Belfast's When We Are Giants, initially to the on-trade but with a wider distribution to follow.

Malfy GQDI is created at a distillery in Moncalieri, Piedmont by the Vergnano family.  

Its distinctive palate derives from a pre-distillation infusion of Italian coastal lemons from Amalfi and elsewhere.

The lemon peels are steeped in alcohol and pressed in a basket press. The infusion is then blended with the juniper and five other botanicals before being distilled in a stainless steel vacuum still.

Malfy GQDI Italian premium gin

"The infusion of the local botanicals and Italian lemons, which themselves have a rich history in Italian culture, give Malfy a distinctive twist," Gladstone said.

Malfy GQDI - the GDQI stands for Gin di Qualità Distillato in Italia - is packaged in an extra-flint glass bottle screen-printed with an artistic expression of lemon peels and overlaid with a sea-blue label suggestive of the Mediterranean. Its wooden stopper is crafted from Italian oak.  

The Malfy Crest is inspired by an annual rowing race between the four ancient kingdoms of Italy.

The gin is bottled at 41% abv.  

Malfy has recently also launched in the US, where it is the first premium Italian gin to be imported.

Other markets in which it is being launched include Australia, South Africa and Sweden.

"Malfy hopefully brings a bit of sunshine to the gin category," Gladstone said.

"It is fresh, zesty, approachable and puts a smile on people's faces. It takes people to their favorite gin and tonic moment, looking out at the ocean, or a river or a lake, say: warm evenings, enjoying the view, sipping on a gin and tonic with a fresh slice of lemon, mounds of ice and great friends."

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