Top Ranking Gins From November

The Barreled Gin is a recent (Spring 2016) addition to Koval’s wide breadth of products. They are a grain-to-glass operation that likes to experiment and push boundaries. They age their traditional dry gin for six months in barrels that previously held Koval’s whiskey.

Koval was established in 2008 by two academics that were eager to make organic spirits. They’ve been able to spread their name and their products far and wide since then. They use “woodland spices” to make their dry gin and bottle it at 47% alcohol by volume.

CaskWerks, owned and run by Rick Burch the bassist from Jimmy Eat World, is based out of Tempe, Arizona. They currently sell gin and an apple pie liqueur, and are working on a wheat whisky as well. They use Portuguese juniper which is said to impart less pine character. This product is only distributed in Arizona.

Bokma was established in 1826 in Leeuwarden in northwestern Netherlands. Their Jonge Graanjenever was first introduced in 1966 and they claim to be the first to use 100% grain in their neutral spirit. Botanicals such as juniper berries, coriander, peppercorns, angelica root, and licorice are used. This is available in Europe, most notably in Germany aside from its home country. Bottled at 35% ABV.

"Ingenium" means the engine of natural creativity that comes from observation and imagination. The gin is distilled from a mash of local grain in a direct-fire pot-still to retain more character from the grains themselves. The flavoring botanicals are said to be a mixture of traditional and non-traditional botanicals.

The inquiring minds at Falcon Spirits wanted to know what a botanical-infused brandy would taste like, thus this barrel-aged gin is made from unaged brandy that was distilled from Northern California grape wines. This is not unprecedented, and the distillery imagines a long history of juniper-infused wines and grape-distilled spirits before Britain’s 1618 embargo on French brandy. For their current endeavor, the spirit is re-distilled with the complete botanical blend before resting in new toasted French Oak barrels for 8 months to a year. After blending, it is bottled at 45% ABV.

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.

Victoria Distillery is located in Sidney, a town on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, just 20 minutes from downtown Victoria, the city the distillery was originally located. After 10 years, they moved to larger digs in 2016 and with the move came a revamped packaging for their gin. Now the modern packaging suits the contents within; 10 botanicals are used in this gin, which in addition to juniper berries include star anise, cinnamon, and rose petals. It is distilled in batches and is bottled at 45%

Hardware Distillery's R Gin is named after the myth that the the best oysters arrive in months that end in the letter "r." This seasonal gin is distilled from barley that was cold-smoked at the Hama Hama Oyster Co.