A gin with a (powerful) story

by Wim Dons April 1, 2022

You might rightfully ask: what is a Belgian/Afghan gin doing in the portfolio of an importer/distributor of Spanish wines and sherries? Well, we've thought about it in that sense.... and decided that some things are worth the exception.

Other than the usual stuff.

Of importance: it is a delicious gin. It is intense, complex and yet delicate at the same time. Suitable for mixing? Sure it is, but if you ask us: even better as a digestive, served at room temperature.

It also fits our range of 'different-than-other' products we try to establish alongside our wines and sherries. Think of the Valverán Ice Cider, the unique Doñana gins from Destilería Weisshorn, the cavas from Heretat Mestres, the old Brandy de Jerez and sherry vinegars from Alvaro Domecq, de Mondieu! vermouths,… all top quality products that have an unbreakable bond with their origin…

A powerful story

But it's only honest to state that the story of the Dinzad sisters finally won us over. Barin and Mariam fled Taliban-ruled Afghanistan at young age. Together with their parents, they found a second homeland here in Belgium, after a long and difficult road through, among others, Pakistan and Russia. They embraced our society with both arms, went to study and, as a job student, they came into contact with our world of food&drinks. Barin was so enthused about wines and spirits she graduated a few years later as a sommelier-conseil at the wine university of Suze-la-Rousse, in France. It's an understatement to say that it has not been an obvious path for a young woman from Kabul, capital of a country where wine - and alcohol in general - tops the list of banned products. In the meantime, she also started working as a sommelier at a renowned ** restaurant and decided, together with sister Mariam, to express her vocation through this gin. Khwaraka literally means 'sisters' in Afghan. The label represents two young women who leave behind and transcend their troubled background.