The Botanist Gin Review – Gin Of The Month

This beautifully complex, layered gin is a shining example of why Scottish gins are some of the best out there. The Botanist Gin hails from the Bruichladdich Distillery on the Isle of Islay, Scotland. This well-crafted and complex gin encompasses a range of tasting notes from floral to herbal and has a smooth, long delicate finish.

ABV: 46%
Price: £31.90
Recommended Garnish: Grapefruit Wedge & Sprig of Thyme
Notable Botanicals: Apple Mint, Birch, Bog Myrtle, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Clover, Gorse flowers, Hawthorn, Heather flowers, Juniper, Lady’s Bedstraw flowers, Water Mint, Wood Sage
Website: www.thebotanist.com/
Buy The Botanist Gin

Bruichladdich Distillery – The Botanist Gin Overview

Although mostly recognised for their whiskey’s, the Bruichladdich Distillery in the Scottish Isle of Islay has produced what can only be described as a brilliant gin in The Botanist.The gin includes a huge 31 botanicals in total, 22 of which are locally foraged on the island of Islay.

Some notable botanicals in this gin include, Angelica root, Apple Mint, Birch leaves, Bog Myrtle leaves, Cassia bark, Sweet Chamomile, Cinnamon bark, Coriander seed, Creeping Thistle flowers. Elder flowers, Gorse flowers, Heather flowers, Hawthorn flowers, Juniper berries, Lady’s Bedstraw flowers, Lemon Balm, Lemon peel, Liquorice root, Meadow Sweet, Orange peel, Orris root, Peppermint leaves, Mugwort leaves, Red Clover flowers, Sweet Cicely leaves, Tansy, Thyme leaves, Water Mint leaves, White Clover and Wood Sage leaves.

The gin is processed for 17 hours in its still nicknamed ‘Ugly Betty’, this seems from the outset very lengthy compared to other gin processing times of around 8-10 hours. However, we believe that combined with the low-pressured, Lomond still is what helps better infuse the botanicals allowing for a smooth but flavourful, layered taste experience.

“22 Foraged Island Botanicals are hand-picked locally and sustainably on Islay across an entire growing season. We think local. Terroir matters. “

Although the gin itself has an abundance of botanicals, don’t let this fool you into thinking it’s going to overwhelm the senses into becoming something which isn’t a classic gin serve. On the nose it has an essence of Juniper with zesty orange, earthy tones. On the palette, this gin is quite delicate it also has some viscosity to it, whilst maintaining a beautiful aroma about it including mint, sweet and floral from the beautiful infusion of botanicals. On the finish, hints of vanilla and liquorice with earthy tones makes for an exquisite and smooth finish.

The Botanist Gin Tasting Notes

Nose:
Juniper, citrus, earthy
Palate:
Smooth, light, mint, sweet, floral
Finish:
Citrus, vanilla, earthy tones, smooth, clean

Serving Recommendation

We recommend serving with a wedge of Grapefruit and sprig of Thyme. We also discovered having this gin with a slice of apple also works beautifully with this gin.

• 25-50ml The Botanist Gin
• 100-150ml Fentimans Tonic Water, we also tried with other Premium Tonics but found this worked best
• Grapefruit wedge
• Sprig of Thyme
• Serve over ice

Overall

The Botanist Gin is a joy to drink, its layered complexity of 33 botanicals along with the attention to detail in the distilling process make this gin something special to behold.

Buy The Botanist Gin
Buy Fentimans Tonic Water

Find out what our July Gin Of The Month was here!