Aperol and Campari may need some severe competitors on the Venice Biennale this yr. Whereas spritzes made with these apéritifs is usually the drink of selection for collectors, curators, and critics taking a break from the tumult of the opening days of the Biennale, a gin-based cocktail may simply be all the trend in La Serenissima this Could.
The Quattro Gatti Gin has acquired the title of the “Official Gin of the 61st Worldwide Artwork Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia” and will probably be out there on the cafes and eating places within the Biennale’s two major venues, the Giardini and the Arsenale, in addition to official occasions throughout the skilled preview days.
Associated Articles
Quattro Gatti Gin was based by the Mordant household—Simon and Catriona and their son and daughter-in-law Angus and Brielle—who’ve an extended historical past of supporting the Biennale. Simon served because the Australian Commissioner for the nation’s 2013 and 2015 pavilions. Simon and Catriona initiated and spearheaded the completion of a brand new everlasting Australian Pavilion within the Giardini, which took a couple of decade to undergo numerous approval processes and was completed in 2015.
“With that relationship that we constructed with La Biennale, it was an ideal alternative to carry our model and their model collectively, as a result of we converse the identical language,” Simon advised ARTnews.
Simon and Catriona have been additionally sponsors of the 2024 Biennale’s major exhibition, “Foreigners All over the place,” curated by Adriano Pedrosa. Simon is presently World Ambassador for Australia’s participation at Biennale Arte 2026, they usually have additionally donated funds to the conclusion of the 2026 Biennale’s major exhibition, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh.
From left, Simon, Catriona, Brielle, and Angus Mordant on the launch of Quattro Gatti, September 2025.
Photograph Sabrina Steck
The elder Mordants, who’re certainly one of Australia’s prime artwork collectors and patrons, purchased a house in Umbria round 25 years in the past, spending numerous holidays there through the years. They formally relocated to Umbria throughout Covid, and it was their native environment that impressed this new enterprise.
“As we spent extra time right here, we felt very linked to the land,” Simon mentioned. “We’re in a rural a part of Umbria, and we felt linked to the neighborhood. We began to suppose as a household how we might do one thing that represented our dedication to Italy and our love of the humanities and of this neighborhood.”
Although the household had beforehand produced a Brunello for Australian eating places and buddies for 10 years, they settled on gin making. After establishing a nonetheless and taking a course within the UK on learn how to concoct the spirit, Simon and Angus started experimenting with recipes, whereas Brielle took on the position of chief advertising and marketing officer, working to determine the ensuing gin’s model identification. As soon as they settled on a recipe, they determined to enter industrial manufacturing.
“It was the plain alcohol to make right here, as soon as we moved right here and determined we needed to make one thing from the land, as a result of there’s numerous juniper all over the place,” Catriona mentioned.
“And the Umbrian juniper,” Simon added, “is taken into account the perfect juniper, so we have been lucky we now have wild Juniper rising on the land, and plenty of the botanicals we use are native. We needed to create a distinctly Italian gin, not a British gin, and that’s what led us down this path.”
Final yr, they entered each of Quattro Gatti’s expressions, Classico and Olive Grove, into competitions, with the Classico successful Triple Gold Medal on the MicroLiquor Spirit Awards and Olive Grove taking residence gold medals on the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competitors and the 2025 World Gin Awards. This previous September, Quattro Gatti grew to become out there for order to the US and is served at Through Cassia in Hudson, New York.
Quattro Gatti in Venice.
Photograph Angus Mordant
Quattro Gatti, which accurately interprets to “4 cats,” takes its identify from an Italian expression that means “only a few individuals round.” Catriona mentioned that they see the identify as signaling that their gin is “small gatherings of enjoyment and dialog—quiet occasions.” That may appear counterintuitive to anybody who has attended the Venice Biennale earlier than, however the Mordants mentioned they see their gin as providing a respite to the hustle and bustle of the vernissage days.
The addition of a brand new official sponsor is critical for the Biennale, as solely three different manufacturers presently maintain that title: Bulgari, illy, and American Categorical. “They hadn’t had a spirit sponsor earlier than,” Simon mentioned of his conversations with the Biennale. “They have been very excited to have an Italian gin sponsor.”
Simon continued, “Our model is all about tradition and the humanities, and in the event you have been to consider one place that these issues all come collectively for an Italian gin, you couldn’t consider a greater alternative than the Biennale, notably given our household lengthy historical past there.”
As a part of the sponsorship, the Biennale additionally requested Quattro Gatti to provide a signature cocktail for the 61st Worldwide Artwork Exhibition. Whereas the Mordants have been tight-lipped about what that cocktail shall be, Simon mentioned, “It’s prime secret for the time being, nevertheless it’s a cocktail that shall be effectively acquired throughout the day, so it’s one thing they’ll discover very refreshing.”
