Representatives of the Spanish Conference of Regulatory Councils and Geographical Indications of Spirits visit Destilerías Xoriguer

Members of the Spanish Conference of Regulatory Councils and Geographical Indications of Spirits (CEIGBE) visited Destilerías Xoriguer yesterday as part of their annual meeting held this time in Maó. The group was received by Adolfo Vilafranca and Xavier Pons, general manager and head of Logistics at Destilerías Xoriguer, respectively, who accompanied them on their tour of the facilities and detailed the unique features of Gin Xoriguer.

The legendary Menorcan gin has the geographical indication “Gin de Mahón” and is the only Menorcan drink included in this select group, which includes palo and herbs from Mallorca, and herbs from Ibiza, and other drinks such as pacharán from Navarra, Catalan ratafía, Galician orujo, chinchón, cantueso from Alicante, ronmiel from the Canary Islands or brandy from Jerez or Penedés.

In total, there are 19 Geographical Indications for Spirits in our country, the third in number in the European Union, only behind Germany and France, and together they represent 10 percent of the total production of spirits (19 million liters of drinks with PGI out of the 187 million produced in 2023).

The PGI Brandy del Penedés stands out, representing 35.30% of total production, being the first Geographical Indication in volume, followed by Brandy de Jerez, with 32.95% of the total volume and Pacharán Navarro, with 15.84%. On the other hand, with a single producer in its category and 336,000 litres, Gin de Mahón represents 1.76%.

However, as CEIGBE emphasises, beyond the number of litres produced and their economic value, estimated at €140,618,719, spirits with PGI are linked to companies that have managed to combine tradition and innovation in their production processes, being able to stop rural depopulation and revitalise the business fabric in places with few employment opportunities.

The value of these industries is therefore incalculable when it comes to preserving culture and tradition and exporting the Spanish brand beyond our borders, guaranteeing high quality standards in the production of spirits.