Yes, that is an oil can. There is a good reason for it. Promise!

 

ENGINE began with Italian entrepreneur Paolo Dalla Mora, whose two abiding interests happen to be distilled spirits and motorsports. The lightbulb moment came while he was working on his motorcycle in his garage in Barbaresco, drinking a traditional local digestivo made with hot water, lemon peel, and sage. Dalla Mora wondered what those flavors might look like translated into a gin.

 

Hence the packaging, an unapologetic homage to vintage motor-oil cans and the racing culture of the ’70s and ’80s. (Referring to the packaging, Dalla Mora told Foodism in a 2023 article that “I like to be the black sheep.”) Even the name hides GIN right in the middle of ENGINE. It’s a great gimmick, and, thankfully, he remembered to make a serious gin to go inside it. 

 

USDA-certified organic, ENGINE is built around Sicilian lemon, Piemontese sage, Tuscan juniper, Calabrian licorice root, and Damask rose. It’s vacuum-distilled at low temperature—a technique for preserving delicate botanical aromas—and brought to proof with Alpine spring water. It lands at 42% ABV, with juniper, fragrant mountain flowers, and freshly zested lemon up front, a distinctive herbaceousness through the middle, and rose petal and a peppery warmth rounding things out. This makes an especially bright and citrusy G&T, but it makes an absolutely fabulous Tom Collins, my favorite use of this gin.

 

Back in the spring of 2024, Fran, Brandon, and I drove by the distillery in Alta Langa on our way to the Deltetto winery (if anyone has leads on a potential importer, please let us know!), and we all squealed in unison. If I ever make it back to Piedmont, a distillery tour will be on the itinerary.