Spirited interior, elegant exterior: Austria's award-winning gin

Born from the ambitions of a small family firm, Aeijst is an organic spirit described as the ‘most English gin of Austria’.

Founded in September 2014, Aeijst was concocted by Wolfgang Thomann and his three children as an unorthodox Austrian tipple. The gin began its life in southern Styria, a region of the country never before associated with gin. However, the product embraces the region's character by adopting the local dialect in its brand – being named after a local word for tree branches.

The spirit is made up of entirely organic ingredients that the company claims to have combined into ‘one harmonic recipe’. Aiming for a palate of purity, the gin selects juniper as its main ingredient, further supported by a range of botanicals, such as lemon, orange peel, ginger, coriander and others. This blending of flavours, the company hopes, will create ‘distinctive notes of juniper followed by fresh citrus and herbal aromas’.

Being only just over 18 months old, the alcoholic beverage has not taken long to add ‘award-winning’ to its credits – winning silver in the ‘London Dry Gin’ and ‘Gin and Tonic’ categories at the International Wine and Spirit Competition 2015. This recognition may not be surprising to Thomann, however, who describes Aeijst as an ‘elaborate formula’ that ‘is pleasant and stays on your palate for a while’.

With its beautifully crafted bottle, elegant packaging and carefully considered combination of organic ingredients, Aeijst proves it’s spirited enough to rival any English gin, Hogarth be damned.