Floral Gins Perfect For Springtime

Oola Distillery was established in 2011 in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. This is a grain-to-glass distillery and they produce vodkas, whiskeys, and aged gin. Here they take their unflavored vodka which is wheat-based and infuse 13 botanicals, including hibiscus, coriander, lemon thyme, dried rose and black lemons. This is sold in both 375ml and 750ml sized bottles and is available in several markets across the U.S.

Green Hat Gin is distilled in Washington, DC from a mash of winter wheat distilled in a copper pot-still. This is Green Hat's seasonal spring and summer release, featuring a unique blend of botanicals, including cherry blossoms.

Produced at the Maison Villevert estate in the Cognac region of France, it may come as no surprise to learn that G'Vine gin uses a base spirit distilled from grapes. Of the two varieties of G'Vine gin are produced, Floraison ("Flowering" in French) uses a larger amount of vine flower - grape vine flowers that have yet to mature into grapes - than its sister gin product. Along with the aforementioned vine flower, nine additional botanicals - juniper, lime, licorice, green cardamom, quassia amara, ginger root, coriander, nutmeg and cubeb berries - are also added. Each botanical is macerated and distilled individually with the base spirit. The individual botanical distillates, along with additional neutral grape spirit, are blended together and distilled again to create the final gin product.

Hendrick's launched in 2001 and is distilled in Scotland at the Girvan distillery. It is distilled in small batches (500 liters) in two different stills using 11 different botanicals including elderflower, chamomile, and yarrow. One batch is made in a Bennet still which produces a heavier spirit (botanicals are macerated) and one is done in a Carter-head still (botanicals are vapor-infused) which produces a lighter spirit. The two are blended together and then infused with rose and cucumbers. It is then brought down to proof with water.

The Botanist is a gin comprised of 9 standard botanicals and an additional 22 that were hand-foraged from Islay itself--botanicals like apple mint, heather, red clover, and meadowsweet among many others. The gin is distilled over 17 hours in a Lomond Still (a hybrid column + pot still). It is bottled at 46% ABV.

The Revivalist gins are crafted at the Brandywine Branch Distillery in Pennsylvania not far from Philadelphia. Their four core gins represent a seasonal approach to gin making with the Equinox representing a springtime expression. The distillers employ some classic botanicals with a focus on citrus that are joined by more the uncommon botanicals of meadowsweet and hyssop. Fermentation occurs in custom Douglas Fir wash backs and distillation occurs in custom CARL pot/column hybrid stills.

Xellent Edelweiss Gin is a Swiss made gin featuring 25 different herbs, berries, and flowers with the majority of the ingredients coming from central Switzerland including the rye. Two varieties are used--Picasso and Matador--and is harvested in late summer. The rye comprises the base for the gin (which they bottle to produce a vodka). The disclosed botanicals include juniper, edelweiss, woodruff, elderflower, lemon balm, and lavender with the latter two grown by Master Distiller Franz Huber. Water used in the distillation is from the Titlis glacier in central Switzerland.

Released in 2010, Farmer's Organic Gin is produced by Crop Harvest Earth Co, a distillery dedicated to producing spirits from organically grown crops. This gin begins with a base spirit made from organically and sustainably grown grain. While the entire botanical recipe is a company secret, it's known that the lineup includes juniper, elderflower, lemon grass, coriander, and angelica root, all of which, along with other undisclosed botanicals, are organically grown. Following distillation in small batches, the gin is then bottled at 46.7% ABV. Note: As of November 2022 the brand has revamped the recipe and released another version of Farmer's Organic Gin. This bottling listed here has been discontinued.

This expression, released in 2015 from Eden Hill Brewery & Distillery, is made with a mix of both traditional gin botanicals, including juniper berries, coriander, and angelica, along with more exotic botanicals, including rose petal, hibiscus, elderberry, goji berry, raspberry leaf, and rhubarb root. This gin is bottled at 42% ABV.

Botanivore is aptly named as this gin most certainly is a "botanical eater", 19 different ones to be exact. Sixteen of them are steeped overnight in a neutral spirit to soak and steep. The remaining three--juniper berries, bay laurel, and fresh cilantro--are placed in a basket within the still to have the vapor pass through them. After pot-distillation, this gin is brought down to 45% ABV. It is sold in a 750ml size and in a 200ml sized bottle, the latter of which is sold in a trio pack with their other two gins.