I grew up with the juniper flavor present in my childhood ...
The juniper of the beautiful mountains of Slovakia, where I ventured as a boy scout at the age of 5, harvesting together with my father what would soon become a delicious spice in my grandmother's magical hands. Seasoning that perfumed the whole house while she prepared our delicious Sunday lunches.
The same flavor of my adolescence, my first contact with spirits in the meetings with friends. Yes, we Slovaks also have our “cachaça”. And it is made of juniper! It's called borovička.
I soon moved to London, and this change also expanded my look at this restlessness that exists in the mix of cultures in a large metropolis. It was there that my passion for Cocktail started, following the tips of my friend Erik Lorincz, also Slovak and in love with Brazil. Erik is a mixologist who inspires you and transports you for a moment to a James Bond film, 007, with each sip of a Dry Martini perfectly prepared in the bar of the Hotel Savoy in London.
In 2013 I moved to São Paulo and began to immerse myself in a Brazil different from the stereotypes shown by advertisements in Europe. I got to know artistic, culinary and historical aspects with a rich and deep essence, with spontaneous, creative and warm people, even when facing innumerous historical and sociocultural challenges. I started to understand their typical phrases “God is Brazilian” and “I'm Brazilian and I never give up!”, but I also unfortunately gained first hand experience of “taking advantage is everything” and that saddened me. And this mixture of pride and shame was frequently expressed even by my employees.
It reminded me of my childhood, with financial hardships, raised by a single mother, in a suburban neighborhood, where my passion for basketball kept me out of trouble. Eastern Europe, after the fall of communism, went through a time of great social challenges and cultural identity crises, and like Brazilians, we also have our "Mongrel complex" .
Brazilians often questioned me why I left Europe, since life was apparently way better there. But as a Slovakian living in Western Europe I was also a bit of a gringo. It was my story that brought me to Brazil and allowed me to empathize with a feeling of “it could be better”. My then recent love for Brazil became a call to help in the construction of a new narrative that extolled the countless virtues I saw around me.
That's how I embarked on my path of alchemy and transforming shame into pride: peeling and dehydrating fruits, I made peace with my past; grating at my fingertips I found my own essence.
With the guidance of our master distiller Rob Dorsett and inspired by the Abopuru of Tarsila do Amaral, Arapuru is my gift to this country that gave me so much, a "thank you" from a gringo with a "Mongrel complex" who now understands his own value , because he admired the complexity and finally the beauty of the people of Brazil.
Thus was born our Arapuru, following the most traditional methods of gin distillation in England with the sophistication of the flavor and perfume of this Brazil that fascinates me. The taste of my childhood, of my adolescence is now also on my proudly Brazilian side, which I will take forever, worldwide, with the symphony and the lightness of a bird's flight. #TupaSaveTheGin
I grew up with the juniper flavor present in my childhood ...
The juniper of the beautiful mountains of Slovakia, where I ventured as a boy scout at the age of 5, harvesting together with my father what would soon become a delicious spice in my grandmother's magical hands. Seasoning that perfumed the whole house while she prepared our delicious Sunday lunches.
The same flavor of my adolescence, my first contact with spirits in the meetings with friends. Yes, we Slovaks also have our “cachaça”. And it is made of juniper! It's called borovička.
I soon moved to London, and this change also expanded my look at this restlessness that exists in the mix of cultures in a large metropolis. It was there that my passion for Cocktail started, following the tips of my friend Erik Lorincz, also Slovak and in love with Brazil. Erik is a mixologist who inspires you and transports you for a moment to a James Bond film, 007, with each sip of a Dry Martini perfectly prepared in the bar of the Hotel Savoy in London.
In 2013 I moved to São Paulo and began to immerse myself in a Brazil different from the stereotypes shown by advertisements in Europe. I got to know artistic, culinary and historical aspects with a rich and deep essence, with spontaneous, creative and warm people, even when facing innumerous historical and sociocultural challenges. I started to understand their typical phrases “God is Brazilian” and “I'm Brazilian and I never give up!”, but I also unfortunately gained first hand experience of “taking advantage is everything” and that saddened me. And this mixture of pride and shame was frequently expressed even by my employees.
It reminded me of my childhood, with financial hardships, raised by a single mother, in a suburban neighborhood, where my passion for basketball kept me out of trouble. Eastern Europe, after the fall of communism, went through a time of great social challenges and cultural identity crises, and like Brazilians, we also have our "Mongrel complex" .
Brazilians often questioned me why I left Europe, since life was apparently way better there. But as a Slovakian living in Western Europe I was also a bit of a gringo. It was my story that brought me to Brazil and allowed me to empathize with a feeling of “it could be better”. My then recent love for Brazil became a call to help in the construction of a new narrative that extolled the countless virtues I saw around me.
That's how I embarked on my path of alchemy and transforming shame into pride: peeling and dehydrating fruits, I made peace with my past; grating at my fingertips I found my own essence.
With the guidance of our master distiller Rob Dorsett and inspired by the Abopuru of Tarsila do Amaral, Arapuru is my gift to this country that gave me so much, a "thank you" from a gringo with a "Mongrel complex" who now understands his own value , because he admired the complexity and finally the beauty of the people of Brazil.
Thus was born our Arapuru, following the most traditional methods of gin distillation in England with the sophistication of the flavor and perfume of this Brazil that fascinates me. The taste of my childhood, of my adolescence is now also on my proudly Brazilian side, which I will take forever, worldwide, with the symphony and the lightness of a bird's flight. #TupaSaveTheGin