Canning's - from the distillery

The blog.

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

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 or gin? Two of Madeira's drinks, compared

Poncha is Madeira's traditional drink: cane spirit, honey and lemon. The island also distils its own gin. What each one is, and when to order which.

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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?

No law defines small batch, so the words alone guarantee nothing. Three things you can check on any bottle before you take the label at its word.

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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 the trip, 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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