Canning's - distilled in Ribeira Brava, Madeira
Madeira gin.
Madeira is known for its wine, celebrated each year at the [Madeira Wine Festival](/blog/madeira-wine-festival). It also makes gin. Canning's is a dry gin distilled on the island itself, from Madeira's own water and botanicals - made there, not just flavoured to taste of the place.
Juniper opens it; passion fruit and pitanga follow; the pure water of the Madeira mountains gives it a slightly earthy depth. Bottled at 40%, in small batches.
What makes it a Madeira gin
Not the label - the source. The botanicals come from the Laurissilva, the ancient laurel forest that has cloaked Madeira for millions of years and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. The water is drawn from the island's mountains. Passion fruit and pitanga, grown in the island's climate, sit alongside the juniper.
It tastes of where it's from: clean and aromatic, a little earthy underneath, with a long, soft finish. Madeira is one island in a wider story - our guide to Portuguese gin covers the rest.
Gin from Madeira, or gin aged in Madeira casks?
The phrase "Madeira gin" means two things. Some distilleries, mostly in Britain, age their gin in casks that once held Madeira wine and call the result Madeira cask-aged gin. The casks travelled; the gin never saw the island.
Canning's is the other meaning: gin distilled on Madeira itself, from the island's botanicals and water. Both are worth drinking - but only one of them tastes of the place.
Distilled in Ribeira Brava
Canning's is made in Ribeira Brava, on the south coast of Madeira, by C.N.A. Companhia Nova de Aguardente. It was first bottled in 2016, but the recipe rests on the accumulated experience of four generations of distillers.
Every run is a small batch, not a production line.
Gold in London
Blind-tasted at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2018, Canning's took a Gold Medal and was named among the 21 best gins in the world. In 2023 it took Silver at the International Spirits Challenge. Both medals are on the awards page.
How to drink it
As a gin and tonic: about one part Canning's to three of your favourite tonic over plenty of ice, with lime zest and a sprig of mint. Clean enough, too, for a Martini.