I am the founding father of D.Gin. I had a first encounter with D. in 2012 when I received my very first Gin-DYI-kit as a gift. From then on my travels with D. unravelled as I started experimenting with all sorts of herbs, spices, flowers and golden specs.
From infusing to Distilling
The mystical town of Machelen is the birthplace of D. where I started making my Gins from scratch. I bought my own ingredients or harvested them from my garden. In the beginning I used the infusing technique which involves slowly letting the herbs soak into the alcohol. Afterwards I traded this technique for the more traditional distilling technique whereby hot steam takes up the flavor and aroma of the herbs but not the colour or texture. When this steam cools down you get colorless pure alcohol with the desired flavor and perfume. Our base alcohol, derived from grain and sugar beet, is carefully distilled several times to produce a pure and clean alcohol.
When I got to know D’s unique spirit, I understood the base from where to create more varieties. Eight core spices from different regions of the world, including coriander, cardamom, juniper, clove, fennel and lemon peel were carefully selected and form the base of D’s unique palette of flavors. Each different D.Gin is then brought to life by adding extra unique and characterful spices like bitter orange zest (The Prospector) or sweet rose petals (The Adventurer).
D. is meant to keep you wondering. D. is a wide range of things to discover. From a traditional London Dry Gin (The Farmer) to a more refined Barrel Aged Gin (The Blacksmith) that has been maturing in wooden barrels. By creating 9 unique and diverse Gins (6 alcoholic Gins and 3 non-alcoholic spirits) there’s something for all to taste.
By now I have become closely involved with D. I create the perfect combinations and subsequently I see the different Gins coming to life in an authentic and professional distillery in Belgium.
By using my own bottle filler and labelling machine I remain in close contact with the product from start to finish. But D. is not an adventure to undertake alone. My wife and son are my loyal companions along the route. D. is their undertaking as well.
Creating new flavors is my passion. I love to experiment and indulge in the creativity of combining different herbs and seeing the labels come to life on the bottles. I will keep on challenging myself to discover unique spirits and bring the story of D. to the world. Because a Belgian product that is made with passion and love is meant to be shared with the world.
And you? Have you gotten the opportunity to encounter D. yet? Discover our different drinks and find out what D. is to you.
Interested in working with Dany? Do not hesitate to contact us.
D. around the world: find out where D. has travelled to so far. Or become a distributor yourself so you can take D. to unexplored places.
