The Embassy of Italy in Nairobi used a gin evening and a classic car show last weekend to promote music, design and trade links with Kenya.
GinItaly ran on Friday 25 September at Shamba Events. Two days later, the 54th Africa Concours d’Elegance took place at Ngong Racecourse. The embassy supported both events, and the first set the terms for the second.
GinItaly pairs gin with live jazz
The Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Nairobi hosted GinItaly. Italian saxophonist Lorenzo Simoni performed with Kenyan musician Mackinlay and his band. Mixologist Riccardo Marinelli served his signature gin drinks. Perfumer Diane Risopoulos spoke on how Mediterranean botanicals link gin and fragrance.
The programme drew on 33 Gin, 33 Spins: A Spirited Dialogue Between Gin & Jazz, a book by journalist Alfredo “Freddie” Del Curatolo and agronomist Alessio Colussi.
Italy’s Ambassador to Kenya, Vincenzo Del Monaco, addressed guests. “Tonight, we are certainly raising a glass of gin. But we are also raising a glass to creativity,” he said.
Is gin Italian?
Partly. Some accounts trace gin’s ancestry to juniper preparations used at the medieval medical school in Salerno, southern Italy. Historians and drinks writers disagree on how directly those remedies link to the spirit sold today. Italy has no settled claim to inventing gin.
Modern gin descends more directly from genever, a spirit tied to the Low Countries. Britain then developed and popularised it. GinItaly therefore, presented Italy as one contributor to a tradition that crosses borders, alongside the producers who work in it now.
What Kenyan bars and brands can take from it
Kenyan musicians, bartenders and businesses took part as contributors, not only as guests. Results will show in what happens next: new collaborations between artists, introductions that turn into contracts, and techniques that bar staff use on their own menus.
Product knowledge matters most when it changes what reaches the customer. A bartender who can explain a gin’s botanicals can build a serve around it or add it to a menu. Feedback from participants would show which of those outcomes the event produced.
The Italian Trade Agency’s Nairobi office lists agri-food and beverages, equipment for hotels, restaurants and catering, and cosmetics and perfumery among the sectors it handles.
The music follows the same logic. Simoni’s set with Mackinlay and his band showed what joint performance looks like. More joint work would extend it past one evening.
Classic cars at Ngong Racecourse
On Sunday, the embassy backed the Africa Concours d’Elegance, organised by the Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Kenya. Del Monaco is the club’s patron. The embassy’s own biography also lists him as Honorary President of the Automobile Club of Kenya for 2026.
The Embassy, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Trade Agency used the show to promote Italian automotive design and engineering. Kenyan owners and restorers carried the exhibition. Keeping a historic car running takes technical knowledge, time and spare parts, and the Concours recognised that work. A GinItaly stand linked the two events and drew car enthusiasts, businesses and creative groups to one spot.
Trade conversations behind the celebrations
The weekend also tied into commercial work. Italy sells machinery and equipment used in production and processing. The embassy and the Italian Trade Agency supported Italian participation in Propak East Africa, which brought contacts in packaging and food processing. The agency is again an exhibitor for the next edition, set for 2 to 4 March 2027 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi.
The embassy held a separate business meeting days before the weekend. On 24 September, Del Monaco met a delegation of chief executives from leading Kenyan companies at his residence, the first meeting of its kind. The companies together generate about 15 billion euros in revenue, and the session presented tools under the “Sistema Italia” framework in line with the Mattei Plan for Africa. The executives showed particular interest in Italian technology and machinery, much of which many of their companies already use.
A new body supports that push. The Italy Kenya Chamber of Commerce, Kenya chapter, was set up to help Italian companies enter the market, build institutional contacts and find opportunities. For Kenyan firms, talks about equipment and technology can lead to local value addition.
What comes next
The gin, the music and the cars gave Italy and Kenya an easy place to meet. The results will show in whether the musicians perform together again, whether bartenders change what they pour, and whether the business contacts turn into contracts. For more coverage of regional business and markets, see Khusoko.
