Delicious Picks For World Gin Day

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%

Former Wall Street employee and gin enthusiast Steven DeAngelo and his brother Phillip, originally started Greenhook Ginsmiths in 2008. However, due to the aftermath of the economic recession that year, the Brooklyn-based distillery didn't release its first gin until four years later. Greenhook Ginsmiths American Dry Gin is made with a base spirit distilled from New York-grown wheat. Eight botanicals - juniper, coriander, chamomile, elderflower, citrus, blue ginger, cinnamon, orris root and elderberry - are then vacuum-distilled with the base spirit. The gin is then bottled at 47% ABV.

Hernö Distillery is located in Dala, Sweden near the eastern coast. It is made in a one-shot method and only adds water which they source from their own well to bring the gin down to 40.5% ABV. They use 8 botanicals, all of which are certified organic and include fresh lemon peel which they peel by hand, lingonberries, meadowsweet, and black pepper. Note: This is not currently available in the U.S., but can be found in many European countries.

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.

Created for spirits merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd in London by a Dutch distillery, production of this London Dry Gin is overseen by Dr. David Clutton. Six botanicals go into its distillation--juniper, orange peel, grapefruit peel, angelica root, coriander seed, and cardamom--which is distilled in a direct-fire pot-still after steeping overnight in a neutral grain spirit.

Produced in the Spanish Mediterranean, this gin begins with a barley neutral spirit. The botanicals, which include Arbequina olives, thyme, basil, and rosemary, are steeped in the spirit and distilled individually. It is then blended together where water and more neutral spirit is added. It is bottled at 42.7% ABV.

Released in 2013, Diplôme Dry Gin is made with a recipe originally created in 1945 at the end of World War II. The gin soon became the official gin of American Army troops stationed throughout Europe. Distilled in the city of Dijon, this gin is made with eight botanicals: juniper berries, coriander, whole lemons, orange peel, angelica, saffron, iris root, and fennel seed. The botanicals are macerated in a beetroot spirit before being distilled and bottled at 44% ABV.

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.

Released in 2013, this gin bottling is called "VJOP" which stands for "Very Junipery Over Proof." During production, a large amount of juniper is added (3x more than their standard London Dry) and the gin undergoes a "triple juniper" process. First, additional juniper is added to the botanical recipe, which macerates with the base spirit for three days. Then more juniper is added following maceration. Finally, during distillation, more juniper is vapor infused with the spirit. The gin is then bottled at 57.7% ABV.