Producer: Garagai

The Garagaï distillery was founded in 2019 in the Aix-en-Provence region by Maixent Dubois. Its flagship product is Garagaï pastis, entirely organic and artisanal, made from wild or locally grown plants and distilled.

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Distillerie Garagaï

Pastis 2022 Spirits

€42,00

Pastis 2022 Spirits

Garagai
Garagaï is an organic and artisanal pastis from the Provençal region, produced by Maixent Dubois. All the plants that compose it were either picked in the Sainte-Victoire mountain region, in the Aix region in the spring of 2022, or grown organically at the distillery. It's a distinctive and delicious pastis that will be a welcome change from industrial versions.

Production
The plants, picked at the time of flowering, are macerated while still fresh. The maceration time depends on each plant, depending on how the macerates are tasted. The macerates are then filtered and the remaining plants distilled. The blend is carried out over about twenty macerations, after which the mixture rests to marry the aromas and is filtered before bottling. The sweetening is very light, at a rate of 6 g of Butinarello lavender honey per liter of pastis. Here is the composition: star anise, licorice, wild thyme, lemon thyme, rosemary, savory, fennel, tarragon, lemon balm, lemon basil, Marseille basil, absinthe, mugwort, bay leaf, peppermint, spearmint, dill, coriander, green anise, oregano, hyssop, agastache.

Tasting
You can immediately taste the difference, this Garagaï pastis has nothing to do with the mass-market versions: no overly sweet notes; the blend is subtle, the plants form a harmonious bouquet. The aging potential is unlimited, but it is recommended to drink an opened bottle within two months to preserve all its aromatic qualities. What do you serve this pastis with? Peanuts. But also small antipasti from Olio di Serra, Mediterranean starters, tapas, Spanish canned fish, cured meats, the bottarga…

Learn more about the Garagaï distillery
Garagaï is the name of a chasm (or rather two chasms, the large and small Garagaï) located at the top of the Sainte-Victoire mountain. It follows that the products of the Garagaï distillery display a strong Provençal identity. The distillery was born in 2019, created by Maixent Dubois, a local boy who went from working in winemaking to working with spirits.

A desire for pastis
Maixent has long dreamed of making pastis. He will interpret the recipe with love and finesse, growing his organic plants on site or having them picked in the Aix region, around the Sainte-Victoire mountain. The result is a first distinctive and emblematic product, Garagaï pastis, released in 2020. It is made using entirely artisanal methods and organic products, and distilled in a Charentais-style still. Other pastis will follow, as well as syrups made from Mediterranean plants.

The aperitif of the sun
Obtained using various techniques (hot infusion, cold maceration, bain-marie distillation), Garagaï pastis are subtle, complex, and aromatic thanks to the meticulous work of blending the distillates. This will be a change from industrial pastis; it's time to rediscover this aperitif liqueur that so beautifully evokes summer and sunshine.

The Garagaï distillery was founded in 2019 in Puyloubier, at the foot of the Sainte-Victoire mountain, by Maixent Dubois. It took off in 2020 with the release of its first batch of pastis.

The Story of a Provençal Distillery

Garagaï is the name of a natural chasm located at the summit of Sainte-Victoire. A destination and passageway for hikes as challenging as they are spectacular, it also gave its name to the Maixent distillery—and to its first pastis.

Maixent Dubois first worked in urban planning, then in viticulture and winemaking. His father, after selling the aircraft propeller repair business he had run for years, bought some vineyards, the Domaine du Loup Bleu. Maixent worked there for a while before embarking on a grand tour of wine estates throughout France. The winemakers he met there encouraged him to pursue his career. What fascinated him most was the magic of plants and macerations. He wanted to make pastis.

In 2019, he created his distillery, supported by many friends who joined the adventure, particularly an arborist and a chemist specializing in spirits. The choice of the name Garagaï expresses a Provençal cultural roots that Maixent wanted to associate with working the land and expressing creative freedom. What better emblem for a Provençal distillery than the creation of a pastis?

The Garagaï Method

Maixent aims to create unique alcohols and liqueurs, typical of the terroir of Provence. To achieve this, he uses wild plants harvested in the Aix region or grown on-site at the distillery using organic farming methods. The plants are used fresh. Their aromas and colors are fixed by hot infusion in water, cold maceration in alcohol, and final distillation in traditional Charentais-style stills, over an open flame and in a bain-marie. Finally, meticulous blending allows the aromatic palette of each vintage to unfold.

Products

Entirely organic and artisanal, marked by their terroir of origin, the distillery's pastis are three in number: Garagaï, Mediterrà and Pastis du Baou. Maixent also makes syrups from Provençal plants: for example, mint and calamint, thyme, lemon verbena, rosemary, and savory. The pastis is made from entirely natural ingredients: anise, licorice, and a bouquet of Mediterranean plants.

Producer: Garagai

All his wines

Pastis 2022 Spirits

Pastis 2022 Spirits

The Story of a Provençal Distillery

The Garagaï Method

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