The Creation of VERSTACHIO

The gin market is oversaturated and crowded. Rows of pretty bottles, endless pinks, florals, and “limited editions” that all start to blur into one. Verstachio was created to fill in the niche and answer to a very simple question:

What if a gin didn’t just look ‘different’ – but tasted like nothing else on the shelf?

Not another citrus forward London Dry. Not another sweet ‘gin’ liqueur. A true gin, built around a bold, nutty, pistachio flavour profile, with a silky mouthfeel and a vibrant green hue you can spot from across the room.

That’s the essence of Verstachio.

From “just a pistachio hint” to our flagship spirit

The earliest idea for Verstachio actually wasn’t a gin at all, it was a pistachio liqueur.

There are already several nut liqueurs out there, though, and as someone with real experience in the gin world, it felt like the more honest (and more exciting) challenge was this:

Could we build a proper gin where the nuts weren’t a gimmick or afterthought, but the main flavour profile?

At first, Verstachio was going to be a classic juniper led gin with just a hint of pistachio in the background. But as test batches progressed, that idea didn’t feel unique enough. The liquid was good, but it wasn’t special…

So we flipped the concept.

Instead of hiding behind juniper and safe flavour pairings (which we’re strongly against), Verstachio became about amplifying the niche. We decided to make a nut forward gin that leads with pistachio, layered with nougat-like sweetness and gentle warmth, while still behaving like a seriously well made gin in the glass.

The result is a spirit that feels like pistachios, nougat and warm nuts in a glass, without ever tipping into sticky or cloying territory.

The long road to the right recipe

Getting there wasn’t instant…

In early trials, the plan was to fat wash the gin with pistachio oil after distillation – infusing the spirit with oil, then freezing and filtering to remove the fat while keeping the flavour.

On paper, it sounded perfect. In reality? Well…

The pistachio oil carried a strong olive oil-like character that pushed the flavour in the wrong direction. The mouthfeel was there, but the taste wasn’t true to the vision.

So that idea was scrapped.

Test after test, the recipe was rebuilt, changing ratios, adjusting maceration, playing with how the nuts, fig and vanilla interacted, and tasting until the balance was right. Only once the liquid delivered that Verstachio: The Pistachio-Forward Gin That Refuses To Play It Safe

The gin shelf is crowded. Rows of pretty bottles, endless pinks, florals, and “limited editions” that all start to blur into one. Verstachio was created as the answer to a very simple question:

What if a gin didn’t just look different – but tasted like nothing else on the shelf?

Not another citrus forward London Dry. Not another sweet liqueur. A true gin, built around a bold, nutty, pistachio-led flavour profile, with a silky mouthfeel and a vibrant green hue you can spot from across the room.

That’s where Verstachio begins.

Eight botanicals. One unforgettable flavour.

Verstachio is built on a focused lineup of just eight botanicals, each one chosen to support that nutty, dessert-adjacent profile without turning the spirit into a sugary liqueur:

• Juniper – because it is still a gin, and juniper needs to be present. It provides structure, dryness and that classic piney backbone.

• Pistachio – the star of the show; giving that unmistakable green, nutty, almost creamy character.

• Almond – enhances the perception of marzipan, nougat and soft sweetness.

• Pecan – adds depth, warmth and a toasted, buttery note that makes the nut profile feel luxurious rather than flat.

• Fig – a gentle dried-fruit richness, tying together the sweeter notes and adding a subtle jammy, honeyed lift.

• Vanilla pod – not to make it taste like ice cream, but to round edges, soften bitterness and link the nuts and fig into something velvety.

• Orris root – the quiet workhorse; it fixes and binds the flavours, helping everything linger on the palate.

• Himalayan salt – the secret seasoning. Used carefully, it doesn’t make the gin “salty”, but it sharpens flavour, deepens the nuttiness and gives Verstachio a moreish, savoury edge.

The result is a spirit that feels like pistachios, nougat and warm nuts in a glass, without ever tipping into sticky or cloying territory.

Colour, wax and identity: the look matters too

Verstachio isn’t just different in the glass – it looks different on the shelf.

The gin itself carries a warm pistachio green hue, adding a visual cue to what you’re about to taste. This isn’t a faintly tinted gin; the colour is part of the experience, not an afterthought. Everything serves a purpose with Verstachio.

To tie everything together, the bottle wax is colour matched to the liquid. When you see that green topped bottle, you don’t need to read the label to know what it is! It’s Verstachio. That instant recognition is deliberate, a clear, consistent brand identity.

Handcrafted in small batches

Verstachio isn’t a factory made product. It’s a small-batch, hands crafted spirit from start to finish:

• Juniper berries are hand cracked.

• Nuts are hand cracked (de-shelling pistachio nuts is never fun…).

• Every bottle is filled, labelled and waxed by hand, in house.

When you’re pushing into unconventional flavour territory, those small decisions and manual checks are what keep the liquid consistent and true to the recipe and our ethos.

How to drink Verstachio

This isn’t a “buy it once, make one cocktail” bottle. Verstachio was built to be your cocktail lover’s new favourite spirit, a gin that can sit at the heart of your cabinet and still surprise you each time.

Neat or over ice

The silky, nut profile means Verstachio is excellent neat or simply over a big cube of ice. The chill brings out more nougat and fig, while the salt quietly sharpens the finish.

Perfect Serve: Verstachio G&T

For a simple serve that really shows off the spirit:

• Verstachio

• Good quality tonic

• Garnish: fresh fig (or dried fig) + a wedge of fresh lime

The fig amplifies the dried fruit and nutty notes; the lime brightens everything and stops it becoming heavy. If you want to lean even further into the theme, you can add a few nuts as a snack or garnish to enhance the flavour in the glass.

Cocktail playground

Because of its texture and profile, Verstachio works beautifully as:

• A base spirit in nutty, flavour-rich leaning drinks.

• A secondary “accent” spirit to add pistachio depth to classic builds.

A house favourite is a Verstachio twist on a Martini (my personal favourite) – think dry, elegant, with a soft nutty backbone instead of the usual hard edged juniper and citrusy wine taste.

Once you start playing with it, you’ll find it drops into all sorts of recipes where you’d normally reach for a nut liqueur. The purpose of Verstachio is to be as verstile as possible.

Why Verstachio exists at all

Verstachio is the flagship for a simple reason: it represents what the brand stands for.

• We’re not here to flood the market with yet another forgettable gin.

• We’re here to “amplify the niche” – to take flavour combinations you don’t usually see in a gin, and make them work effortlessly.

• Every bottle is designed to give you a genuine flavour journey, not just a pretty label bottle.

A pistachio led, nut forward, vibrantly green gin that drinks beautifully neat, in a G&T, or in serious cocktails. We avoid the safe choice…that’s exactly the point of Nowé.

This is Verstachio.
Unconventional on paper. Unmistakable in the glass.