Olive Oil
Olive Oil: The Unexpected Elixir of the Distillery
Of all the unconventional routes a distiller might take, adding olive oil to the process might raise the most eyebrows, and yet the results can be quietly extraordinary.
Fat-washing is the technique most commonly used to introduce olive oil into gin.
The oil is combined with the spirit, allowed to infuse at room temperature or gently warmed, then frozen so the solidified fat can be removed cleanly, leaving behind its flavour compounds without the texture or cloudiness.
The result is a gin that carries the essence of olive oil: smooth, rounded, subtly savoury — without any oiliness on the palate.
What olive oil imparts is difficult to pin down precisely, which is part of its appeal.
There is a silkiness to the mouthfeel, a gentle richness that softens sharper botanical edges, and a faint Mediterranean warmth that lingers on the finish.
It doesn’t announce itself loudly, it simply makes everything around it taste more cohesive and complete.
It pairs with particular elegance alongside citrus botanicals, juniper, and herbs such as rosemary or thyme, anchoring brighter flavours with a quiet, grounding depth.
For distillers seeking textural interest and a genuinely distinctive sensory experience, olive oil fat-washing represents one of the most intriguing frontiers in modern gin making.
