Basque Moonshiners
A story that borns in the Civil War
Antonello Favro was an Italian soldier who arrived in Fontecha (Basque Country in Northern Spain) in 1936 to fight during the Spanish Civil War. Antonello taught our grandfather, Tomás Ortíz de Zárate how to produce vodka. He was the first Basque Moonshiner. They used an original recipe brought from Piedmont’s meadows and took advantage of local potatoes, plentiful and good-quality, to hand-craft the first spirits.
This old recipe has been preserved to the present day. Basque Moonshiners has been crafting its own spirits with the old still for more than 70 years. Our Pot-Still has seen many moons and from that old recipe, Basque Moonshiners distillery was born with its first creation BASMOON Vodka. This has been followed by others that we present on this website.
Inspiration and Tradition
American Moonshiners are our inspiration, brave people who dared the “Prohibition” during Dry Laws.
They used old pots and copper stills to distil their own moonshine, hidden in forests during the night to avoid discovery. Because enjoying good things requires you to take risks.
Inspired by those Moonshiners and following the Basque tradition hand-crafting spirits like Patxarán, Basque Moonshiners decided to make their own way. Basmoon vodka is the end result of a recipe improved with time. Handmade in Vitoria at Basque Moonshiners distillery, Basmoon is premium quality potato vodka five times distilled. Basmoon Vodka has been followed by Pattar, Agot Whisky and Jackal Vodka.
With moonshiner passion, taking risks and admiring hand-crafted beauty.
Distillery
Travelling an unexplored path
We obtain our base alcohol from potatoes. We distil, filter and bottle vodka to yield full flavour and maximum quality.
The distillery, headed by the old pot-still in which the Basque Moonshiners first produced their homemade liqueurs, will soon host new creations with moonshiner philosophy: quality products, new to the market and handcrafted.
Different, risky, authentic, personal, impassioned, eclectic and unapologetic…
That’s Manu Iturregi, our Basque Moonshiners bartender. His first love is Scots whisky, but BASMOON Vodka is his secret lover.
He masterfully manages Residence Café, a local pub that becomes a temple for the discerning reveller in Bilbao.
Enjoy a good nip of BASMOON Vodka whilst enjoying live music from local bands.
Iturregi, friend and brand ambassador to Basque Moonshiners, has created the “Moonshiner Guide”, a list of cocktails and combinations. Manu Iturregi & Basque Moonshiners begin walking together.
No matter what it costs, falling or being lost, because they are the way.
#followyourself