ImaGINe Badacsony’s new gin – or basalt and juniper, in a turquoise blue bottle

Balázs Tihamér Sipos, the owner of the winehouse, carries the alchemy of winemaking in his DNA, since his father’s vocation was viticulture and winemaking, and, what’s more, his grandfather had already enjoyed the potential of the vineyard, and his great-grandfather was a vineyard master of the Esterházy family in Badacsony.

The story of Balázs is special because there was a time when he focused rather on paragraphs instead of barrels. After his father’s death, however, he and his wife Dóra decided to return from the world of meeting rooms to the family roots for 2-3 days a week, and in addition to running the guesthouse, they also wanted to make a mark in winemaking. The vision has become a reality: the winehouse, which also has guest rooms, offers its fans more and more delicious wines every year, and hosts both wine tastings and events. But the heart of Balázs told him that the winehouse could do even more than that. And so it proved.

Life is a strange scriptwriter. Balázs and an old friend of his, Máté Paizs, who is at home in the world of restaurants, were talking over a refreshing gin and tonic, and they were dreaming about what would happen if Sipos Winehouse would come up with a gin. A few days later, they were both in Csaba Pavlicsek’s Perkáta empire to figure out the next step with one of the country’s best brandy and gin-making masters. Csaba, who speaks about gin spices with the same heartfelt enthusiasm as Balázs about wine, was instantly hooked. And even though he had never given his name to gin before, he immediately felt that this was a project he wouldn’t want to miss out on.

Juniper: the alpha and omega of gin, which Sipos gin cannot do without either. However, Balázs insisted that the curiosity factor was not guaranteed by the wine, but by something much more exciting. Something that also adds Badacsony to the perfectly composed flavours. Finally, he himself came up with the phenomenal idea: what if the spices were soaked on basalt stone? Csaba’s eyes lit up, and the alcohol and spices went on their way to becoming gin: three recipes were born, from which a jury of renowned experts unanimously selected the winning combination.

In Badacsony’s first gin, the flavours of elegant and traditional gin parlay with each other, and to make sure you don’t get bored, Csaba has added a whole new and groundbreaking flavour profile. The secret ingredients provide the unique and unrepeatable aromas: after the first sip, the citrus flavours of fresh lime, grapefruit and orange peel dance on the palate, followed by the spicy interplay of herbs and spices, including cloves, coriander and black pepper.

Sipos gin is a love of flavour at its best – or so say those lucky enough to have tasted it. In fact, its creator, Csaba Pavlicsek, was even lucky enough to pass the state exam for master pálinka maker at the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences: he took it with him to tell the committee about in case he pulled a topic that went well with gin. As it turned out: the news of the brand new gin preceded him, and the committee gave Badacsony’s first juniper spirit an A rating.

The bottle is made of matte, painted glass in the colour of Lake Balaton, and the design is the work of Balázs’s wife Dóra and Evelin Micheller, the winehouse’s marketing and design manager. Its striking appearance and its not inconsiderable weight make it significant. And although the liquid in it doesn’t last forever, the bottle does: its decorative appearance helps to evoke the Balaton feeling all year round.

All the wines of the Sipos Winehouse have hidden film references, and of course Sipos gin has also joined the list, at Evelin’s request. “Don’t panic!” – proclaims the inscription hidden next to the familiar logo, which commemorates the novel/movie The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy: and indeed, there is no reason to panic with the Sipos gin, especially since, unlike most gins, it is not 40 degrees but 42. And for a good reason: anyone who has read the novel will know that 42 – like the Sipos gin – is the answer to everything!