At village weddings in Slovenian folklore, the pozvačin was the practical joker and master of ceremonies, the man who went from house to house to invite every guest in person and then made sure their glasses stayed full. That character gives his name to this London Dry from Destilarna Pozvačin, a small distillery in Gornja Bistrica, in the Prekmurje region of north-eastern Slovenia. It is bottled at 40% ABV in a 50 cl bottle.

Dry · Herbal

The label tells the story in his own voice: as master of wedding ceremonies, he is in charge of inviting the guests, keeping spirits high and, now, urging the drinker to celebrate love as if there were no tomorrow. A dancing figure covered in coloured ribbons fills the red half of the label, in the costume of a traditional wedding inviter. The producer describes a fresh gin with a unique temperament, born from traditional gin-making mixed with the playfulness of Slovenian folk tradition.

The botanical recipe is kept private, so juniper is the only ingredient that can be named with certainty. As a London Dry, the gin is distilled with its botanicals and receives nothing but water afterwards, which keeps the style dry and clean. It is also the base of the house's Purple Gin, which adds fresh Slovenian ingredients to this original recipe. The distillery is registered in the name of Boštjan Gabor, in a rural corner of Prekmurje close to the Mura river.

A classic gin and tonic is the natural place to start: large ice, a cold Indian tonic and a twist of lemon with a few juniper berries. Taste a little neat beforehand, slightly chilled, to judge the freshness the producer describes. Fittingly for a gin named after a wedding host, it also makes a festive aperitif when shared, poured over ice for a toast.