With its Mediterranean blue, square-shaped bottle and botanical base inspired by local botanicals from the otherworldly garden of the hilltop Casa Montefino, Portofino Dry Gin captures the essence of its namesake village with every sip. And if there’s someone who really embodies its spirit, it’s Paolo Gastaldo, the gin’s Global Brand Ambassador.
Co-founder Chris Egger describes Gastaldo as “the first to create a KM 0 cocktail with our gin.” The drink? The Negroni La Vela, a twist on the classic he crafted during his tenure behind the bar at Belmond Hotel Splendido Mare. Gastaldo combined the gin with Campari and two hyper-local spirits: a pine nut vermouth from a small producer in Genoa and Camatti, a Ligurian amaro.
“He had the idea to pre-batch it in small Portofino bottles,” Egger enthuses. “When someone ordered one, he’d pull the bottle from the fridge, pour it at the table, then leave it next to the drink. As soon as I heard about this, I had to meet him.”
That was three years ago, and Gastaldo has since assumed the role of Global Brand Ambassador—a gig with a full slate and plenty of creative freedom. This past April, he crafted custom cocktails for Milan Design Week, including a rhubarb-infused Negroni for Italian design collective Artemest and a playful banana-kissed number for the whimsical home decor brand Fornasetti.
These days, Gastaldo’s stirring things up on Portofino Dry Gin’s Instagram feed—not just showy bar-only drinks, but cocktails anyone can make at home. A recent standout? The Gingerino with Earl Grey tea—an inspired idea born from an ordinary breakfast. As summer approaches, he’s focusing on low-ABV cocktails, or drinks with just 20 ml of gin, instead of the usual 40 or 50. To keep the flavours balanced and not overly sweet, he’s collaborating with artisanal Italian soft drink producers who use natural ingredients and sugars.
While cocktail crafting is his calling, Gastaldo’s ethos isn’t confined to just recipes—it’s also about connection. “It’s really important for us to build a rapport with our customers,” he explains. “We don’t just want to be like, ‘Here’s your bottle—ciao.’”
His growing recipe repertoire lives on Portofino Dry Gin’s website, but his insight doesn’t stop there. He encourages home bartenders grappling with any what-do-I-mix-this-with dilemmas to email customer care, and he’ll create a recipe for them.
Though having a full library at one’s fingertips certainly eases the pressure, pulling off a good cocktail is still intimidating. So, we asked Gastaldo for some advice on crafting cocktails with confidence.
Basilico Smash
Ingredients
40 ml Portofino Dry Gin
30 ml lemon juice (fresh)
20 ml agave nectar (Monin)
5-6 basil leaves (fresh)
Garnish
basil leaves
Glass
Old Fashioned
Method
Pour all the ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and give it a hard shake. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice and garnish with basil leaves.
La Penisola & Tonic
Ingredients
50 ml Portofino Dry Gin – La Penisola
Top up Fever-Tree Light Tonic Water
1 spray Grapefruit and basil Essentia
Garnish
Pink grapefruit peel
Method
Add all the ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice and mix gently with a spoon before garnishing.
SGROPPINO ALLA PORTOFINESE
Ingredients
15 ml Portofino Dry Gin
10 ml Limoncello
10 ml Agave syrup
2 spoons of lemon sorbet
120 ml Prosecco
Glass
Approximately 30 cl, long-stemmed cocktail glass.
Method
Blend all the ingredients in a blender with a few ice cubes. Pour into a glass and garnish with a basil leaf.
