Gin 101-150
The Great Gin Exploration
For many years, we had not been vodka or gin fans. And this is due to bad gin decisions probably 30 years ago when we were much younger. Enough said. What is important is that we are back and keenly interested in gin, vermouth and all things botanically infused.
So, back on Jan 7, 2026, we stopped into the Bitter Bar next to Zuzu's on Main Street in Napa. And I asked for a martini made with Griffo gin because I had the privilege of serving the company's owner at the winery I work for. He had made his product sound pretty amazing. The bar keeper made the martini with Griffo gin and a touch of vermouth from Spain called Tximista blanco. And seriously, my life changed in a glass. I was spellbound. And since then, I have been on a hunt for botanical knowledge and product. We are just getting started here.
Gin Count: 101-120
Distiller: Maison Ferrand, Cognac, France
Description: Citadel Jardin D’Ete Dry Gin de France, Chateau du Bonbonnet
Thoughts: I’m not sure why, but I was prepared not to like this. We love the original Citadel, but this botanical list just sounded too floral and cirtus to me. Boy, was I wrong. (However, I love this bottle label design.)
Botanical list: Almond, Angelica root, Cantaloupe, Cardamom, Cassia, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cubeb, Cumin, Fennel, Iris, Juniper, Lemon, Licorice, Nutmeg, Orange, Savory, Sichuan pepper, Star Anise, Violet, Yuzu. That’s quite a haul. The nose is really delicate despite all these items infused into it. We get mostly citrus, roots and the seeds.
The palate is round, warm with pepper, lemon and licorice. It does smell like a summer drink — almost a G&T in a bottle. It has a touch of bitterness to it, which rounds out the citrus and rich rootiness. The finish is rather long as well. A very well crafted gin.
This one is a keeper. Sip it on its own or mix it as a martini, G&T or gin gimlet.
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Date Tasted: 10/30/2026
Keeper ✓
Distiller: Benromach Distillery, Forres, Scotland
Description: Red Door Small Batch Highland Gin
Thoughts: This has a very interesting botanical list. They add juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root, bitter orange peel and lemon peel. And then they add local bots as well: pearl heather, rowan berries and sea buckthorn. And wow! The components here give this gin a real highlands character. There is even a hint of sea air on the nose. And they distill the gin in an old copper still named Peggy.
The nose is tangy and redolent of coriander and citrus. But the palate shines with herbal spice, bitter citrus and coriander. The flavors have good palate coverage and create a long finish.
This gin is gentle with delicate nose and palate notes. It could be a single sipper. But if you want this to be added to any mixed drink consider lighter components so as not to cover up these amazing flavors.
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Date Tasted: 10/29/2026
Distiller: New Alchemy Distilling
Description: The Arborist Gin
Thoughts: The botanicals list includes two types of juniper, coriander, cardamom, various citrus components, three types of pepper, chamomile and other local botanicals. These create notes of citrus, light juniper and spice — heavy on the pepper notes.
The palate has a pepper punch, followed by citrus, a hint of pine and freshly dried herbs. It tastes like California. Another hike in the foothills on the palate.
This thing is pleasant sipping straight, but it feels more like a canvas on which you’ll paint something amazing. From a gimlet to a G&T, a martini to a negroni, this gin is the perfect base.
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Date Tasted: 10/29/2026
Distiller: Patio 29 Spirits Co
Description: West Track New American Gin
Thoughts: The botanicals are juniper, coriander cubeb, orris root, citrus peel and lavender. A nice, short list. And the lavender is up where it should be. If you like a gin with an appreciable amount of lavender, this one is for you. Without this amazing bot bill, the lavender could get soapy, but the berries, seeds and roots keep this note in line.
The nose shows off all of the elements above in nice balance. It reminds us of a walk through the California coastal wilderness. There is a nice sage and dried herb character to the nose. But as it warms the scent of cinnamon toast rises to hang up there with the lavender.
The palate has a lovely intensity of citrus, cubeb pepper and lavender. Juniper and coriander linger in the back. But the finish is so beautiful! There is actually a pepper spice zing. And the lavender sticks to the center of the tongue hanging there for over a minute. And minutes after that, it’s still there with juniper berry.
Yah, what a great gin! And for us, the distillery is just down the road. This is a great basis for negronis, G&Ts or martinis (dirty). This one is more-ish.
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Date Tasted: 10/28/2026
Distiller: Kurayoshi Distillery
Description: The Hakuto – Japanese Craft Gin
Thoughts: The botanicals include juniper berries, coriander seed, orange peel, yuzu peel, Japanese ginger, green tea, cherry blossom, Sancho pepper and Japanese pear (nashi).
The nose has a distinct scent of fresh pine sap, juniper berries and Sancho pepper. The citrus comes next with coriander and floral last. It is fresh, pretty and unique as gins go. Never tried anything like this one.
That peppery pine flavor is noticeable on the palate. But the citrus matches it well, leaving one with a long, fresh flavored finish.
This would make a wonderful martini made with Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur. The pine and pepper on this one would not work for some drinks. A G&T with a sprig of mint would be ideal as well.
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Date Tasted: 10/28/2026
Distiller: Four Pillars Distillery, Healesville, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Description: Rare Dry Gin
Thoughts: Botanicals in this gin are sourced from around the world and from Australia. They include junper berries, lemon myrtle, Tassie pepperberry, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon, lavender, star anise, angelica and fresh oranges. The anise, cinnamon and other herbs predominate on the nose with citrus and juniper offering undertones.
The palate shows strong anise sweetness, citrus, cinnamon, root notes and coriander. It has a slight bitter note on the front of the palate that balances out nicely with the sweetness from the citrus and anise. All in all, nicely concentrated and intense.
So much fun to try an Aussie gin finally. This stands out beautifully from the usual London Dry stuff that we run into. We love the inclusion of the native plants — no matter where the gin is made. Now, we have never tried or smelled Tassie pepperberry, but this gin has a feel to it that is different than any gin we have tried yet — maybe this is what Australia is like?
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Date Tasted: 10/17/2026
Distiller: Eden Mill Distillery, St Andrews, Scotland
Description: Golf Gin
Thoughts: This is a really unique idea. The makers here go around the various golf courses of Scotland sourcing plants that grow locally around the grounds of the courses. What a lovely idea. They use juniper, Kombu seaweed, gorse, heather, lavender and pine. There might be others. Even Google seemed unsure exactly which botanicals were used. Other sites say there might be citrus peel in there as well.
The nose is really nice. Lavender plays a bit part, a touch of citrus, juniper and sea salt. The scents are med+.
The palate is rich in spice, sea salt, sweet citrus and herbal notes. As usual the palate is far more intense than the nose. And this one is really special. There are no bitter or tense notes. It is all one lovely package. Going to have to put this on the keeper list. The botanicals are not only unique, but they create a lovely flavor.
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Date Tasted: 10/02/2026
Keeper ✓
Distiller: Langley Distillery, Birmingham, England
Description: Zephyr Gin
Thoughts: The nose on this gin is soft, sweet and fragrant with floral, herbal spice notes. These come from the botanicals: coriander, angelica root, lemon peel, junper berries, elderberry and elder flower. A nice compact botanical bill there.
The palate is warm with spice, berry, citrus and root notes. The volume on the flavors is med+. It is not overpowering. This will be a great gin to sip, especially if you are just getting into gin. This is quintessential in flavor profile. This is how gin should taste. But it would be a great martini mixer.
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Date Tasted: 10/02/2026
Distiller: The Illusionist Distillery, Munich, Germany
Description: The Illusionist Dry Gin
Thoughts: These guys use Mediterranean rosemary, juniper, angelica root, lavender, chamomile, Sicilian orange rind, pink grapefruit rind, Spanish lemon rind, lemongrass, ginger root, cranberries, coriander seed, mace, licorice root, butterfly pea flower.
The nose is med+ intensity with a sweet edge from the butterfly pea flower. You also get lovely citrus, juniper, coriander, root notes and spices from the mace and licorice. But all of these are balanced out nicely. AND of course, you get the blue color from the pea flower. It is beautiful.
The palate is almost sweet due to the pea flower and citrus. Its few rough edges are balanced out by the citrus. The palate is both intense and concentrated.
This is a gin is a real winner. I have a soft spot for pea flower gins. I love that flavor — and it’s blue! It is a definite mixer. And their website says that if you mix this with anything acidic it turns pink!
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Date Tasted: 9/30/2026
Distiller: Martin Ryan Distilling Company, Portland, Or
Description: Aria Classic Dry Gin
Thoughts: They start with juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, cardamom, grains of paradise, cubeb pepper, orris root, lemon peel, orange peel and cassia bark. And this sounds like a pretty classic botanical bill.
The nose does not have a big punch to it. It has a medium intensity in a classic London Dry style with the juniper, roots, barks and citrus predominanting.
The Palate shows lovely cassia notes, soft citrus, slightly rough/bitter root notes, but has lots of juniper flavor to take the finish a long way.
This is a really great gin and will be perfect for any gin based mixed drink. This would love to be added to a gimlet.
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Date Tasted: 9/30/2026
Distiller: Trinity River Distillery, Fort Worth, TX
Description: Devil’s Grin Texas Gin
Thoughts: We picked this up at Lawler’s in Napa just on a whim. Trying to branch out a bit and get away from so many London Dry gins. Texas seemed the place to go!!
And this is a really interesting botanical bill here: juniper, toasted mesquite bean, Anise, Cardamom, Galangal, Rose hips, Allspice, Orange peel, Orris root, Lemon verbena, Angelica root, Lemon peel, White sage, black peppercorn, coriander and toasted pecan.
Toasted mesquite bean?!? Cool! This is one of the warmest nose profiles I can remember. It is a huge nose and oddly nothing jumps out individually necessarily. This is a nose that is a whole on its own. Very nice.
Now the palate on the other hand shows the fingerprints of allspice, citrus, peppercorn, sage and juniper. The palate is where all these ingredients get to come out on stage and take a bow. But what a performance. This is a serious gift to the gin world. These guys are serious crafts-people. Well done! I like this one in a cold glass straight.
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Date Tasted: 9/29/2026
Distiller: Ransom Spirits, Sheridan, OR
Description: Highly Malted Dry Gin
Thoughts: They use juniper, lemon, coriander, angelical root, caraway, anise, Marion berries, orris root, hops, cardamom and orange.
Wow, the nose on this gin really pops! Caraway and anise are the heroes here. But the other bots are in there as well. Do not get a lot of juniper or Marion berry on the nose.
The palate blossoms with those Marion berries, juniper and anise, however. A very plush bed of flavors in this one. It is powerful with flavor with notes that are thinking way outside the usual box. Well done to the crafters here. This will be a great gin for mixing for sure.
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Date Tasted: 9/29/2026
Distiller: Leopold Brothers, Denver, Colorado
Description: American Small Batch Gin
Thoughts: Juniper, Orris root, coriander, cardamom, pomelo and Valencia oranges.
The nose is a bit elusive. It isn’t jumping out of the glass. I get hints of citrus, lettuce and orris root.
The palate shows the botanicals best. It is a really nice blend of all the citrus, spice and roots. The junipers is delightful in this. They distill each of the ingredients individually and then bring them together. And they use grain and potatoes. This is a very interesting animal for sure with plenty of potential for mixing.
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Date Tasted: 9/29/2026
Distiller: Martin Miller’s Gin Co, England
Description: Martin Miller’s Westbourne Gin
Thoughts: We already loved the regular Martin Miller Gin. So, we figured this one has to be as good. And we were right. In fact, it’s better.
As it says in the documentation, this gin uses a two-step process of infusion. First, they do a 12 hour infusion in hot spirit of the following bots: Juniper berries, coriander seed, angelica root, orris root, cassia bark and licorice root. The second phase is where Sicilian lemon, Seville orange, grapefruit, juniper tips and lavender as suspended over the hot boiling chamber to extract just the volatile notes from the botanicals. And boy, does it do the trick.
The nose is gently citrus, floral spicy with cassia and licorice. But the palate explodes with rich, pungent roots, spices and sweet juniper. Great flavors that don’t fight with each other, but merge beautifully.
Well, yet another keeper. Just drink it over ice. It is its own mixed drink.
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Date Tasted: 9/28/2026
Keeper ✓
Distiller: Langley Distillery, Birmingham, England
Description: Broker’s Gin
Thoughts: From the first sniff the botanicals are alive in this one. They use coriander seed, juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, nutmeg, licorice root, cinnamon, orris bark, cassia bark and angelica root.
This gin got a bunch of accolades. And we can see why. The nose is beautiful. It is balanced between the roots, barks and citrus. The palate is viscous, rich, concentrated and balanced. This is a keeper of a gin. A real classic London Dry style.
Another gin to drink over ice or as a G&T. You do not want to cover up this flavor profile!
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Date Tasted: 9/28/2026
Keeper ✓
Distiller: Altamar Brands, Malmo, Sweden
Description: Right Gin
Thoughts: They start with juniper, Sarawak black pepper, coriander leaf, lemon peel, bergamot, green cardamom, key lime peel, bitter orange peel.
This is a lovely, sweet nose of black pepper spice, citrus and juniper. The is a lovely hint of cardamom, one of my favorite scents.
The palate is nearly perfect with a good amount of pepper spice, berry, sweet citrus and coriander. It has great balance and mighty concentration on the flavor. A class act of a gin — highly sippable.
G&T or martini material.
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Date Tasted: 9/22/2026
Keeper ✓
Distiller: Thames Distillers, London, UK
Description: James Gin London Drizzle (JG.04)
Thoughts: Interesting, the team works on their ideas up at the Downton Distillery in Wiltshire. Then the scaled up, production is done in London. James May works with Master Distiller Hugh Anderson to come up with these creations.
Friends have been talking about James Gin creations. So, it is about time we tried one of them. This one sounded the closest to London Dry and also super interesting. And James wanted to create London Dry style that smelled like that scent you get after rain falls on dry pavement after a long dry spell. The scent is called Petrichore. When rain hits pavement or soil, it activates bacteria that secrete a chemical called Geosmin. This chemical rises up as an aerosol into the air and smells like rain. Our brains are so sensitive to Geosmin that we can smell it at five parts per billion!! And guess what, beets are high in Geosmin.
So, that does James do? He uses beets! He puts in beetroot, lovage, ginger, bay leaf, orange peel, juniper, coriander, angelica root, licorice root, cubeb pepper, rosemary and caraway seed.
It is a lot of data. But what you get is a very sippable gin with lots of lovely root notes, sweet potato (from the beets) and juniper. The resulting palate is spicy with ginger, juniper, citrus and pepper. Yah, this is a really nice winner of a gin. It will love to be the basis of any of your favorite mixed gin drinks!
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Date Tasted: 9/22/2026
Distiller: West Cork Distillers, Skibbereen, County Cork
Description: Garnish Island Gin
Thoughts: They use juniper, coriander, angelica root, licorice root. There are many locally foraged botanicals as well such as hibiscus, iris, rose, rosemary and thyme. The blend is inspired by the lush Italian gardens on the island. The nose is balanced with pine, citrus, spicy and root notes.
The palate is spicy and lovely with an almost sweet finish. It is in perfect balance between the roots, florals and coriander.
A perfect palate for a G&T. Pick a good tonic and give this a twist of lime. It is screaming for lime!
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Date Tasted: 9/22/2026
Distiller: Austin Whisky Co, Austin, TX
Description: American Gin
Thoughts: These guys include juniper, coriander, elderflower, Jamaican allspice, two types of cinnamon, three types of citrus peel, tarragon and pepper corn. This is nose you won’t believe. At first, its scent is way outside the box from a classic London dry. But we aren’t here to judge. This is an American gin afterall! The cinnamons, elderflower and peppercorns really stand out giving it a warm, almost stone fruit character.
The palate is spicy with peppercorn, juniper and cinnamon. It has great concentration and a sweet finish like cinnamon bubblegum (in all the best ways).
Really loving the imagination on this one. They use 70% Brasetto Rye and 30% non-GMO white corn. Again, going outside the usual box and creating a very different picture using many of the same paints others use. A real contender for a heavier mixed drink like Negroni.
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Date Tasted: 9/22/2026
Distiller: Waterloo Gin Co, Dripping Springs, TX
Description: Waterloo Gin No.9
Thoughts: There are nine botanicals here. We have Lavender, juniper, grapefruit, pecan, orris root, coriander, anise, ginger and licorice root.
Wow, the nose on this is just perfect. Nothing is overpowering, everything is balanced. There are just enough, vibrant citrus, berry and root notes to make this the complete package.
The palate sings with coriander, orris root, licorice and juniper. It has perfect balance and lovely concentration making this a single sipper in our book. But this gin is one with versatility. You could make a mean martini with this one. But it is suited to a G&T. You just don’t want to overpower it with too many heavy notes like Campari or full-flavored aperitifs. This one is keeper.
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Date Tasted: 9/22/2026
Keeper ✓
