Old Pilots - Gin & Vodka from Croatia
15/12/2022
 Words Glenn Vanbellingen Photos Dirk Bogaerts - 15 Dec 2022 Croatians Tomislav Anadolac & Hrvoje Bušić trained together as military pilots near Zadar in the mid-1990s. Their passion for flying, combined with a mutual fondness for quality spirits, inspired them to found their own nano-distillery in Zagreb in 2016: "Duh u Boci", Croatian for 'spirit in the bottle''.  The OLD represents two old friends and describes their long friendship and passion for flying. Bušić has been trained as a certified spirits maker in the Netherlands & Tomislav is the financial wizard in the Old Pilots gin team! Duh u Boci Distillery produces 3,000 bottles a year using an iStill in the London dry manner. Before distillation, the botanicals are extracted in a liquid state using a water-ethanol mixture: a combination of extracts & dried botanicals. For their Old Pilots London dry they only use six botanicals and these are: Juniper berries from Otočac (Croatia is well-known for its high quality juniper berries). Oranges from the Neretva valley and Dalmatian islands Olive leaves from Biokovo Sage leaves from the foot of the Velebit mountain Lavender flowers from Dalmatian islands Angelica from the continental part of Croatia. All botanicals are sourced from certified Croatian herb growers & the entire production process is carried out in-house at the distillery. Old Pilots Spirits produces only premium quality thanks to the unique distillation technology, the know-how of the two friends & the natural, organic botanicals. This allows them to maintain the very highest standards of purity & flavour. Everything from distillation & maturation to bottling, label sticking, waxing & sealing is done manually in the distillery. The story may be one of two pilots, yet they took me on board as an extra passenger on their high flight. From the very start I recognised the extraordinary quality of their spirits, made their gin my personal number 1 even before the official launch & proclaimed it to anyone who wanted to hear it. To this day, I am a tireless "ambassador" of these top products, not only in my reviews. Consequently, I believe that their unparalleled way of working & their pursuit of perfection in every little detail has its price. The gin has a wonderful balance and gives us these tastingnotes: Nose: Immediately we got fresh juniper berries, complemented by earthy notes and some sage. Afterwards we got fruity oranges and lavender but both in a very subtle way. Taste: Taste and smell are completely different things! Whereas the smell starts with convincing juniper berries, the taste immediately gives you nice earthy notes, combined with sage. Juniper and oranges are mixed in too, but also in a very subtle way. Thanks to the combination of olive leaves, angelica root and fresh sage, you can easily say that this Old Pilots gin has a profoundly earthy character. Finish: A long, dry, earthy finish is what you get, introduced by coriander & followed by the bittersweet citrus flavour of orange. My score for this one is a solid Golden 95/100.  Barrel Aged Gin After distillation this gin is rested in five different barrels, split between American and Croatian oak. They differ by volume and toasting/charring levels, each giving their own signature and complexity to the final spirit. As you’d expect, the American oak lends sweet, smoky vanilla whilst the Croatian oak adds bitterness and dry fruit tones. Old Pilot’s Barrel Aged Gin is perfect in cocktails but extraordinary on its own as well, served neat in a rosemary-smoked glass.  Old Pilot’s Vodka Old Pilot’s Vodka – made from the highest quality distillate and refined through Platinum. Exceptionally pure, uniquely opulent and clear as the sky. Alcohol: 40 % Base: wheat Gluten free   A bottle of Old Pilots as the ultimate 2022 Xmas present : you can buy Old Pilots at Kurt Heddebauw's online shop : www.bottlesonboard.be
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