This bottle was a lovely gift from my amazing friend Sonia, a stylish and passionate Parisienne with a zest for philosophy, intense debates and seeking out the beautiful truth in life, love and both the brightest and darkest aspects of existence.

While I was delighted with the quality of the gin and beautiful flavour profile, I was also surprised by the origin story of its creators.

The Branding

The bottle is tall, thin and beautifully adorned, with fine frosted glass, copper insignia (I imagine to invoke the copper still in which the gin is produced) and a broad, thin Tricolore.

Quatre-Vingt Trois

QVT stands for Quatre-Vingt Trois, which is French for 83. The number is the code for the French département of Var, located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in the southeast of the country where the gin is produced.

The Flavour

The aroma is soft. The flavour profile is also soft. With so many new gins competing in the market by attempting to out perfume one another, this is a very nicely done alternative. It’s subtle, gentle and carefully balanced between refreshing juniper and citrus notes, with their sharpness defused with Provençal herbs and other more earthy botanicals.

The rosemary and lavender stand out as a calming balm, but not with an overpowering bouquet. There is certainly no unpleasant aftertaste. It is clean tasting, but in the way that water from a fresh bubbling stream is clean, not surgically clean as some, more fiery spirits can sometimes taste.

The Texture

The gin is produced in small batches in a copper still, which was engineered bespoke by CARL in Germany. The spirit is mostly smooth with a degree of warmth that comes through if you drink it neat and at room temperature, but it is still more than pleasant. If you keep it chilled or in the freezer for a few hours before serving it has a very gentle, almost soothing mouthfeel.

The Martini

Having kept the gin in the freezer for six hours and a martini glass to match, I poured it with the tiniest smudge of vermouth and sat back to sample the flavour.

Given the proximity of the QVT distillery to the producers of Noilly Prat vermouth it seemed the correct vermouth to compliment the gin.

A martini, without the effervescent distraction of tonic really allows you to appreciate the botanicals and curious cycle of flavours that the drink presents. A good quality vermouth used very sparingly allows further exploration of this high quality spirit.

The flavour almost seems seasonal, as if it should be best enjoyed during the months from the first tips of green appearing in the garden, until just as the autumn leaves are falling, or maybe for a few weeks after that to sentimentally evoke the fading scents of summer.

It has a rounded, almost grassy aroma, and an initial taste of soft herbal earthy notes. These are then replaced by a wave of pleasantly mellow citrus, juniper and rosemary, with a soft afterglow of lavender, more gentle rosemary and other herbs.

I couldn’t help myself picturing Provençal fields at the end of the summer after a few sips, although that was possibly the shine of the alcohol. It’s a very complex but delicate flavour profile, like walking through a raised herb garden and brushing the plants with your fingertips as you go. There was nothing chemical, nothing overpowering.

Accompanying nibbles

The martini goes well with anything rosemary flavoured. This could be nuts, popcorn, bread or crackers for example. Indeed any sort of nuts, plain, salted or herbed would work well as a snack.

It also goes well with cheeses, or potentially even bubbling crispy cheese wafers. It would also pair with grapes, olives, mushrooms and even some types of fish – but avoid anything preserved or overpowering such as tinned fish or boquerones en vinaigre as these will mask the subtle flavours of the gin.

I would also recommend this martini as a beautiful aperitif before serving some roasted lamb or grilled fresh fish.

The Distilling Duo

The founders of QVT settled in Provence after living in Africa, working and travelling in a number of fascinating locations. One of the founders, Anna, has worked extensively on the continent, running projects and providing insight and advice to various organisations, including at official levels in pursuit of advancement, development and the betterment of public health.

Curiously, the other founder, Justin, like me once worked in salmon farming in Scotland, and then, also like me, in the security world. While terrorism work took me to Baghdad, Justin spent his time in other unstable areas, including Mogadishu.

I have long wondered about the similarities between Scottish (or at least Highland) and Somali societies through the prism of history – savvy but underfunded farmers and seafarers, not to be underestimated and forever fortified by strong and extensive family structures. I feel like I would enjoy a long discussion over African affairs with both Anna and Justin over a nice, cold QVT martini. And now I think about it, maybe it is no coincidence that we have all turned to strong drink.

Otherwise, this is a very good quality gin, with a distinctive flavour profile and beautiful branding. While the makers are not from Provence, it feels like they do great credit to the region and its bountiful Mediterranean produce. The distillers are also working on additional variations and other types of spirit so watch this space!