Six Gins Bursting with Botanicals

Citadelle Gin was created in 1989 by Alexandre Gabriel, owner of Maison Ferrand better known for its Pierre Ferrand Cognac and Plantation Rum brands. The base of the gin is made from a neutral wheat spirit and a total of 19 botanicals are incorporated. These include: juniper, violet root, coriander, almond, lemon rind, orange peel, angelica, cardamom, cassia bark, cinnamon, licorice, grains of paradise, cubeb, cumin, savory, star anise, nutmeg, fennel and orris root. Bottled at 44% ABV. Please note: Packaging update spring 2018.

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.

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.

This is certainly one of the most innovative gins on the market. First, the sheer number of local (many actually grown on the estate) botanicals at 30 is certainly noteworthy, but even more striking is the infusion of Riesling wine from the Zilliken estate — one of Germany’s premier winegrowers in one of Germany’s premier wine-growing regions. Certainly not a typical gin recipe, but fiercely loyal to their vision of strict regionalism.

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.

Hailing from Germany’s Black Forest, Monkey 47 is an exotic gin made with a molasses base. The 47 refers to the number of botanicals used which includes such unlikely fruit ingredients like lingonberries, blackberries, and honey pomelo. These are combined with a host of recognizable gin botanicals such as chamomile, sage, angelica, coriander, and a whole array of others. Another anomaly at Monkey 47 is that the distillate is aged in earthenware containers for three months before being brought to 47% ABV with the forest’s celebrated water.