After cancer ended her music career, Christal Lalla found an unexpected tonic in the world of spirits. Now the artist-turned-distiller is winning awards and shaking up Europe’s premium gin scene with her precision-crafted label, LallaGin
Christal Lalla launched LallaGin less than a year ago. Since then, her debut range has taken home three silver medals at Switzerland’s top spirits competition and caught the attention of distillers and restaurateurs across Europe. For a brand with no corporate backers and no background in drinks industry marketing, it’s a striking first move—and one that’s turning quiet curiosity into serious interest.
The award-winning range, developed in partnership with Orator Distillery near Zurich, is called Four Seasons: four limited-edition gins, each built around a different time of year, using seasonal botanicals and hand-painted labels by Lalla herself. Distilled in small batches with certified organic ingredients, each botanical is processed separately to preserve clarity and character. The gins are made to be sipped neat—too carefully crafted, Lalla says, to be buried under tonic.
That level of precision comes from experience. Long before she entered the spirits world, Lalla trained as a classical singer and performed professionally. She later became an international sommelier and wine judge, working with vineyards across Europe and the US. Born in the United States, she moved to Italy and co-managed a Brunello winery in Tuscany, throwing herself into winemaking and tasting at the highest level.
Then came a diagnosis of oral cancer, which ended her music career and forced a complete reset. It was during recovery that she noticed a surprising shift: her sense of taste and smell had become even more acute.
“I had to completely rethink everything,” she told The European. “But I realised that even if I couldn’t perform anymore, I could still create. And my palate had become an asset.”
Later, in Switzerland, she began developing custom gins for fine dining venues, including Zurich’s L’Amant and several restaurants associated with chef Andreas Caminada. These early commissions helped build a network of chefs, sommeliers and distillers—and laid the groundwork for LallaGin.
Now, with the first range gaining traction, Lalla is preparing for her next release. Carnival Gin, made with Wanderer Distillery near Cologne, launched during the 2024/25 Rhineland Carnival season. It’s built around berry and citrus notes—blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, citrus peel, and juniper—designed to evoke colour, celebration, and sensory excess. The bottle, like the spirit, is louder and bolder, with a custom design that leans into the theatrical spirit of Carnival.
“Four Seasons is reflective. Carnival is pure energy,” she said. “I wanted it to feel like movement—fun, colour, noise.”
Despite growing interest, production remains small, and distribution is selective. There’s no big push for supermarket listings or celebrity endorsements. It’s a slow-build model, shaped more by trust and taste than trend.
Whether that approach holds as the brand grows remains to be seen. But for now, Lalla is staying close to the liquid, to the art, and to the reason she started in the first place.
Further information
www.lallagin.ch
Interview by John E. Kaye
