The Most Wished For Gins Last Week

This London dry gin was launched in 2005 and is made with unusual African botanicals like the fruit of the baobab tree and cape gooseberries, plus undisclosed "traditional" botanicals. It's crafted in England by 8th generation distiller, Johnny Neill, who uses a 100-year old copper pot still for the small-batch production of this gin.

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.

If you're not a Scotch whisky drinker, you very likely have never heard of a man named Jim McEwan. Jim spent 38 years with Bowmore and held every job there from apprentice cooper to Distillery Manager. In 2001, he left Bowmore to reopen Bruichladdich as their Master Distiller. Along with the dozens of single malt bottlings he created, he wanted to distill a gin that reflects his home of Islay, the island he loves. 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.

St. George produces three distinct gins. Their Terroir Gin aims to highlight the forest and earthy flavors of the state of California. They do this by using a dozen botanicals including local California bay laurel, Douglas Fir and coastal sage, the latter two they distill individually. As for the others, the juniper and bay laurel get placed in a basket to be vapor-infused while the remaining botanicals are placed in the pot-still. This is sold at 45% ABV and is available in 750ml or 200ml sized bottles.

Distilled at the Thames Distillery in London, Fords Gin is the final product resulting from the partnership between master distiller Charles Maxwell and Simon Ford of the 86 Co., a New York based spirits company. Using a neutral grain spirit made from English wheat, this gin has nine botanicals - juniper, coriander seed, lemon peel, bitter orange peel, grapefruit peel, angelica, cassia, jasmine and orris - which are steeped in the stills before being distilled with the base spirit.

American Aviation Gin was released in 2006 as a collaborative product between Seattle bartender Ryan Magarian and House Spirits Distillery based in Portland, Oregon. Using a neutral grain spirit, seven different botanicals - juniper, elettaria cardamom, lavender, sarsaparilla, coriander, anise seed and dried sweet orange peel - are steeped and boiled with the spirit in a steel vat before being distilled again and bottled at 42% ABV. Note: As of February 2018, actor Ryan Reynolds is the proud owner of the gin brand.

Plymouth Gin is unique in that it is both a gin brand and gin style. A Plymouth-style gin can only be produced in Plymouth, England. The Plymouth Gin brand was first distilled in 1793 at the historic Black Friars Distillery and is (currently) the only gin brand produced in the city. It is made with grain spirit and seven botanicals: juniper berries, coriander seed, orange and lemon peel, green cardamom, angelica root and orris root. After distillation, the gin is then bottled at 41.2% ABV.

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.

Tanqueray is named after its founder, Charles Tanqueray, who established the brand in 1830. Originally distilled in London, it has been distilled in Fife, Scotland since 1998 at the Cameronbridge Distillery. Their neutral grain spirit (wheat based) is actually made in house and not purchased, the latter of which is more common practice in gin production. The four known botanicals for the gin are juniper, angelica root, coriander seed, and licorice root. This is distilled in a one-shot method as opposed to making a gin concentrate which needs to have neutral spirit and water added to dilute. Here, they just add enough water to bring down to proof which varies dependent on where it is sold.

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.