Ah, gin. By far my favourite spirit, there’s nothing that quite signals summer for me than a tall G & T. To this end, I was excited to discover a new addition, when the Bruichladdich team introduced The Botanist Gin to South African shores last year.
Even though we’re currently in the depths of winter, just looking at the beautiful, floral-inspired bottle of gin sitting on our drinks trolley fills my mind with warm breezes and long evenings.
Produced by Bruichladdich – who just happen to make my favourite whisky – The Botanist is made from 22 hand-picked, foraged botanicals, and Islay’s first dry gin. Needless to say, this is a premium gin – and not one you’re likely to just throw around after 2am.
Satin smooth, with a dominant citrus nose, “it’s a magical melody of Islay’s’ natural bounty from the Atlantic washed beaches to the summit of heather covered hills“. While my gin-nose is still in training, it’s best you hear it straight from the experts – you can view the full tasting notes here. What I can say though, is that it is quite possibly our favourite gin – albeit one that’s reserved for special occasions (it retails for over R500 a bottle).
Tying in with The Botanist’s rich foraging element, they collaborated with renowned Cape foraging expert, Roushanna Gray (you might remember that we recently also spent some time foraging for mushrooms with her recently). Popping in to the gin festival earlier this year, we spent a little time with her, learning how local botanicals change and enhance the spirit. You can read more about her relationship with The Botanist here.
Cape Town gin lovers – if you’re keen to have your tipple prepared by the pros, you can visit Mother’s Ruin or The Gin Bar – our very own spots dedicated to this special spirit.
Note: We received a bottle of The Botanist for review purposes. Image of the botanicals taken from The Botanist’s website. All views and other images are my own.
What do you think?