Canning's - from the distillery

The blog.

Stories and guides from Ribeira Brava: the island, its botanicals, and how to drink them.

New Year's Eve fireworks firing across the whole bay of Funchal, Madeira, with the lit city below and a cruise ship at anchor

New Year's Eve in Madeira

Funchal's eight-minute fireworks over the bay, where to watch for free, and what the island eats and drinks at midnight, twelve raisins included.

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The Canning's set of six 10cl miniature gin bottles, a gift-sized format from Madeira

Gifts from Madeira: what to bring home

Six gifts Madeira actually makes, from honey cake to island gin, and the practical part nobody covers: how to fly bottles home intact.

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A golden passion fruit gin cocktail with a white foam cap and an orange flower, in a rocks glass

The passion fruit gin cocktail, made where the fruit grows

A passion fruit gin cocktail from the bar card of a gin that carries the fruit as a botanical. The recipe, the dry shake, and two simpler serves.

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Illustration of a golden passion-fruit drink in a lowball glass, topped with an orange flower

Poncha: what goes in it, and how strong it is

Lemon is the original, passion fruit is what most bars pour, and pitanga belongs to the island's gin. What goes in the glass, and the spirit beneath it.

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A hand lifting the cork from a bottle of Canning's Dry Gin at a bar

What does small batch mean for gin?

Craft, artisan and small batch are all unprotected words. What a small run changes in the glass, and the parts of a label that can be verified.

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Bottle of Canning's Dry Gin, winner of an IWSC Gold Medal in 2018

What does an IWSC Gold Medal mean for a gin?

IWSC judges taste blind on a 100-point scale; gold starts at 95. What the medal actually certifies when you are choosing a gin, with a worked example.

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A slender sprig of laurel leaves against a pale background

The Laurissilva, and the gin made from it

The Laurissilva is Madeira's UNESCO laurel forest, and Canning's Dry Gin is built on botanicals native to it. What the forest is, and how it reaches the glass.

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People at a cliffside terrace bar above the sea at sunset on Madeira

What to drink in Madeira

Six drinks Madeira makes itself, including poncha and a beer blended with vanilla ice cream. One of them is a good deal stronger than it tastes.

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A coral-red gin cocktail over ice cubes with a tangerine twist, in a highball glass

Pitanga cocktails: mixing a fruit you cannot buy

Fresh pitanga never reaches the shops, so a pitanga cocktail starts with a gin distilled with the fruit. Serves and recipes from Canning's, Madeira.

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The award-winning Portuguese gins with an IWSC Gold

Only three Portuguese gins hold a verified IWSC Gold - Azor in 2017, Canning's in 2018 and Balancal in 2024 - and two are distilled on Madeira.

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Friends talking over drinks on a cliffside terrace above the sea at sunset

Madeira Wine Festival: what to expect

The 2026 edition ran 23 August to 13 September. What the harvest weeks are like, why the Estreito grape treading is worth it, and how to plan the next one.

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A ribbed red pitanga fruit hanging from a leafy branch

What is the pitanga fruit?

The pitanga fruit - the Surinam cherry - is a small ribbed berry that ripens deep red: delicately tart, lively, and a botanical in Canning's Madeira gin.

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