LEGACY GIN RELEASED FOR SA’S AMBRA SPIRITS, PAYING HOMAGE TO FOREFATHERS
Photo Credit: The Advertiser
Ambra Spirits, best known for their Award winning limoncello, were due to release 3 new gins later this year. It’s a first for the 22-year-old local South Australian company but not a project they’ve taken lightly. The production of their gins has been many years in the making and has quite the back story.
Given the current climate they have decided to release their legacy gin early.
Their Navel Gin is their legacy gin. A citrus infused gin, using lemons and oranges from the Riverland (which is the same source they use for all their citrus based spirits), has a 61% alcohol level – producing an intense but pleasant flavour.
NEW: Navel Gin
Description:
Ambra Navel Gin is an Australian Gin which has been inspired by our Italian heritage.
We have handcrafted this small batch gin in Australia with the finest locally grown citrus from SA’s Riverland.
Our Navel Strength Gin at 61% alc/vol is our legacy gin that was inspired by our Italian grandfathers who forged our future in Australia from their desire for a better life through damn hard work! Distilled with Australian native finger limes, local citrus and hand selected botanicals, you will enjoy this almighty gin, with an intense, full bodied flavour and taste that would make our grandfathers proud. Salute!! From our hearts to your lips.
Peppe Fusco and Nando Focareta, Directors of Ambra Spirits, both come from an Italian heritage and Covid-19 has reminded them of the importance of health, wellness and family connection. It has seen them reminisce about their grandfathers and how these strong role models would help others every day, even in a very small way. From sharing their home-grown vegetables with their neighbours, to financial assistance to friends and family in hardship. They taught their grandchildren that the best thing they can do in life is to help others through whatever means they had and to put others before themselves. Both grandfathers loved producing their home-made grappa (Italian spirit) and believed the use of alcohol in their daily lives, in moderation, helped them stay healthy and well. Their grandfathers used to not only enjoy their home-made alcohol as a night cap or added dash in their coffee, but would also use it as a mouth gargle and a disinfectant.
“ Our Navel Gin was going to be released as our final gin at the end of the year, but this is our legacy gin and we’ve brought production forward as we want people to enjoy it now, especially during this time of isolation. We’re in a bit of an unusual time in our lives, that some would compare to the war time of our grandparents. As children, growing up, we’d hear stories about the sacrifices of our grandparents’ and the hardship they went through.
They told us about their lives during the war and post war time and the limitations they had with food, and general supplies. The main message they always emphasised to us was that through their experience, even in times of great hardship they were still able to help other people and to give to others in need. We find ourselves relating to what they went through now, more than ever”. Says Nando.
Pictured Above: Peppe’s Grandfather – Giuseppe Fusco.
Peppe:”We made the decision many years ago to purchase Ambra Spirits (Then “Ambra Liqueurs”) from the original Italian owner, Libero De Luca, in a large part because he reminded us of our grandfathers. We had an instant connection with him and felt we could relate to him because of our upbringing. We knew we could continue his passion for producing Italian inspired handcrafted spirits.
We are today so proud to be able to continue not only his legacy but to pay homage to our grandfathers through the production of our new range of gins that we can’t wait to share with our loved ones and the wider community. Both our own grandfathers had a passion for making and drinking their own handcrafted spirits – back in the day it was “Grappa”. Our gins were inspired by them. Their selection of the perfect botanicals to use in their Grappa and their trial and error methods have all contributed to the way we have produced our own brand new gin line. Ambra has always been a family-based company driven from our hearts, with love, gratitude and respect for all. “
Nando and Peppe will also release two more gins later in the year. The Ambra Citrus Gin and the Ambra Blood Orange gin.
Peppe adds “We’ve been working hard behind the scenes for over 12 months- we wanted to produce something that was truly different, that was premium and that’s why we’ve taken our time to release this to the market” – We’ve had some fun along the way with tastings and testing of different botanicals. The product development process has brought us to the point where we now have a line that we are extremely proud to call our own and we cannot wait to share it with the community.”
Nando says: “During these times we really have reflected on our childhood, our heritage and the legacy our grandfathers have passed on to us. We are so grateful to be able to share our history and learnings with everyone. Whether that be through a taste of our spirits, a visit and chat to our cellar door or through the positive impact we can have on someone who chooses to pay it forward. It’s our time to reflect and realise the importance of family and how each of us, in some capacity can help each other.”
