They say that there are two types of people in the world—those who love good gin and those who have yet to taste a decent one, and I’m happy to say that I belong to the former. My love story with gin was a truly unexpected one. I am usually seen with beer and whisky in hand, but one day, someone introduced me to this magical spirit and it was love at first sight—or sip, for that matter. If you are someone who belongs to the latter group, I recommend getting acquainted with The Botanist.
The Botanist hails from Islay, a rich isle in Scotland which is probably better known to be the producer of some of the finest whiskies in the world. This luxurious, complex, smooth, and exquisite gin contains 22 hand-foraged botanicals, each adding a different dimension to every sip. These botanicals are apple mint, sweet chamomile, creeping thistle, downy birch, elder, gorse (whin), hawthorn, heather, juniper, lady’s bedstraw, lemon balm, meadowsweet, mugwort, red clover, spearmint, sweet cicely, bog myrtle (sweet gale), tansy, water mint, white clover, wild thyme, and wood sage—all handpicked sustainably in Islay during growing season.
The result? A complex yet flawless and balanced blend of flavors—all at once citrusy, floral, herby, spicy. This perfect quality can only be achieved by skillful sourcing and a meticulous slow distillation process. After all, nothing worth having comes easy, right?
I usually enjoy my gin simply with tonic and sometimes by adding a slice of cucumber, but several weeks ago, I learned how to enhance my G&T further. With The Botanist’s 22 botanicals, you can actually choose which flavors you want to bring out depending on the ingredients you add to your cocktail. As an example, cucumber gives off a refreshing flavor that makes gin and tonic such an easy drink.
But what about The Botanist’s botanical bomb? Well, you can unleash it by simply thinking about what flavor profile you prefer: citrusy, floral, or spicy. For instance, if you want to go for citrusy, adding orange or lemons will bring out the citrus elements of the gin. Something spicy perhaps? Add some rosemary and thyme for that rich, somewhat smoky taste.
The floral taste is the tricky part. Surely you don’t want to throw some petals into your drink, right? So I sought the help of special guest bartender Alyona Vinodagrova-Jeffrey during this night of “foraging and experimentation” to make me a floral drink. What did she give me? A G&T using a light tonic, a slice of kiwi, and some mint leaves. Well—what do you know? It was amazingly floral!
The organizers of this event even encouraged us to make our own cocktails via a contest. Needless to say, I lost because my concoction was too boozy I think, hahaha! It’s faaar from being “balanced”. But I think I created something intriguing and—if I have to say so myself—good, a mix of floral and spicy profiles.
If you’re drinking at home—make sure you stock up on good gin like The Botanist, people—be bold and experimental with your drink. Unleash your inner forager. #BeTheBotanist and use your favorite ingredients, flavors that are familiar to you and even ones new to you, to create something new. Something that would excite you to drink again. Something you would want to make for your friends or guests. With all your local and fresh sources paired with The Botanist gin’s contents, the possibilities are limitless.
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* First 3 photos courtesy of The Botanist Gin, edited by me. The rest of the photos are all taken by me.
Have you tried The Botanist? What is your favorite gin cocktail?
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