FastucUP introduces an unprecedented part of the pistachio plant to the world of spirits, transforming research, heritage, and innovation into a distillate born in the Sicilian hinterland.
Not your usual pistachio gin
In Sicily, pistachio is almost a language. FastucUP attempts to move it into unexpected territory: that of mixology, using not the fruit but the buds of the plant to create GINUP Evolution, presented by the company as the world’s first gin made with Sicilian pistachio buds.
The difference is not just in the name. GINUP Evolution stems from research into the various components of the pistachio and a desire to explore what is normally left out of the final product. It is an approach that distances the distillate from classic pistachio-flavored gins: here, the challenge is working with a part of the plant that has not been used this way in the spirits world until now.
From the plant, not just the fruit
This is the philosophy guiding the FastucUP project: transforming every component of the pistachio into a different taste experience. Alongside GINUP Evolution, FastuBeer craft beers were born, made with the hull in the Original version and with pistachio resin in the Resin version.
The raw material comes from the Sicilian hinterland, from the La Fastuchera farm. Fruit, buds, hull, and resin thus become the starting point for research that keeps the supply chain firmly rooted in the territory.
It is an interesting way to look at Sicily: not just as a guardian of traditional products, but as a laboratory where a well-known raw material can be reinterpreted without losing its identity.
A startup born in the territory, with international ambitions
FastucUP has been named among the 14 most innovative startups in Southern Italy selected by PwC and StartupItalia, and today it concentrates much of its research specifically on GINUP Evolution. The project originated in Caltanissetta but looks decisively beyond the island’s borders.
Behind the initiative are Mariangela Galante, CEO and co-founder; Flavio Meloni, co-founder and entrepreneur involved in national strategic development; Francesco Riggi, co-founder and IT Manager; and Giuseppe Cascio, head of production and research, an enologist with over forty years of experience on the international stage.
The idea holding the project together is simple yet profound: innovating by starting from what already exists. “What can we do with pistachio that no one has done yet?” says Mariangela Galante. A question that has given rise to an ongoing journey of experimentation.
The gin that is beginning to tour Italy
The next phase is perhaps the most important for a product of this type: leaving the laboratory to meet those who drink, serve, and tell the story of the gin.
GINUP Evolution has already been a protagonist in the 2026 stages of the Gin & Tonic Festival in Verona and Bergamo, with a participation that FastucUP describes as positive. In Bergamo, on September 4 and 5, the gin was among the over 250 labels featured by the festival in the Into the Woods pop-up format.
The Gin & Tonic Festival tour, founded in 2016, celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026 with seven appointments in Italy and an international stop in Berlin. FastucUP will continue to take GINUP Evolution around Italy, turning every appointment into an opportunity to introduce an interpretation of gin that starts from one of Sicily’s most recognizable raw materials but chooses to tell its story in a completely different form.
From buds to a new narrative of Sicily
This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the operation. The value of GINUP Evolution lies not only in the unusual ingredient but in the possibility of shifting the imagery of the pistachio: from pastry and gastronomy toward the world of mixology, research, and flavor design.
The challenge, as Giuseppe Cascio emphasizes, is to experiment without distorting. Buds, hull, and resin belong to the same plant, but they can become the material for completely different experiences.
From Caltanissetta to a cocktail bar in Milan, Verona, or Bergamo, the journey has just begun. And FastucUP’s bet is precisely this: to demonstrate that innovation can also be born far from the major centers, when a territory decides to look at its own raw material with new eyes.
