The Botanist is a dry
gin
Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis'').
Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...
made by the
Bruichladdich Distillery on
Islay, Scotland. It is one of two gins made on the island and is known for its hand-foraged
botanicals
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
. The botanicals are collected from all over Islay between March and October by professional foragers. The name was inspired by the two local botanists who helped develop the recipe for the gin alongside former Master Distiller, Jim McEwan.
Distillation
The Botanist gin is distilled after an overnight
maceration of nine base botanicals (the seed, berry, bark, root, and peel categories) in 100% wheat spirit and Islay spring water. This alcohol vapor infusion from the distillation then passes through a botanical basket containing the collected leaves and petals. This double infusion gives the Botanist gin its distinct flavor.
The Botanist is slow distilled in the
Lomond still A Lomond still is a type of still that was sometimes used for whisky distillation, invented in 1955 by Alistair
Cunningham of Hiram Walker. It is used for batch distillation like a pot still, but has three perforated plates which can be cooled indep ...
"Ugly Betty", one of the last in existence. The distillation takes 17 hours. Distilling takes place at 0.2 atmospheres of pressure.
Ugly Betty
Developed after
World War II, the Lomond still was an experimental cross between a column and a pot still designed to meet the growing demand for single malt whiskies. It was designed as a "one-stop-shop" still by chemical engineer Alistair Cunningham and draftsman Arthur Warren in 1955 as a way to create a variety of whisky styles.
Tom Morton
Thomas Morton (born 1955) is a Scottish broadcaster, journalist, and author. He lives and works mainly in the Shetland Islands.
Life
Morton was born in 1955, and moved to Shetland in 1987 three years after his wife Susan who was a General Pract ...
described Ugly Betty in his book ''Spirit of Adventure'' as "An oversized, upside-down dustbin made of copper."
Ingredients
Two types of
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
are included, including prostrate juniper (''
Juniperus communis'' subspecies) that grows in the exposed sea level habitats of the
Rhinns of Islay
The Rinns of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Na Roinn Ìleach; alternative English spelling Rhinns of Islay) is an area on the west of the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
It is a peninsula that is attached to the main body of the i ...
. Only a symbolic amount of ''Juniperus communis'' is added.
The
Islay
Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...
spring water from which this gin is made comes from "Dirty Dottie’s spring" on Octomore farm, both for the distillation and the bottling.
The gin is influenced exclusively by the foraged botanicals; no other essences, oils, or flavorings are added. The use aromatic plants for flavoring spirit is not new. Islay’s distillers traditionally used whatever was at hand to improve their
usquebaugh (whisky), distilled on small, portable stills that were hidden in remote glens.
Botanicals
*
Angelica root
''Angelica archangelica'', commonly known as garden angelica, wild celery, and Norwegian angelica, is a biennial plant from the family Apiaceae, a subspecies of which is cultivated for its sweetly scented edible stems and roots. Like several oth ...
*
*
Apple Mint Apple mint is a common name for ''Mentha suaveolens'', and hybrid mints involving ''M. suaveolens'' as a parent
Apple mints of hybrid origin include:
* ''Mentha × rotundifolia'' (''M. longifolia'' × ''M. suaveolens'')
* ''Mentha × villosa'' ('' ...
*
Birch leaves
*
Bog Myrtle leaves
*
Cassia bark *
*
Chamomile (sweet)
*
Cinnamon bark *
*
*
*
Creeping Thistle
''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...
flowers
*
Elder flowers
''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...
*
Gorse flowers
*
Heather flowers
*
Hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
flowers
*
Juniper (prostrate) berries
*
Juniper berries *
*
Lady’s Bedstraw
''Galium verum'' (lady's bedstraw or yellow bedstraw) is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is widespread across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia from Israel, Lebanon and Turkey to Japan and Kamchatka. It is ...
flowers
*
Lemon Balm
*
Lemon peel
Zest is a food ingredient that is prepared by scraping or cutting from the rind of unwaxed citrus fruits such as lemon, orange, citron, and lime. Zest is used to add flavor to foods.
In terms of fruit anatomy, the zest is obtained from the fl ...
*
*
Liquorice root *
*
Meadow Sweet
''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near east and Middle east). It has ...
*
Orange peel *
*
Orris root *
*
Peppermint leaves
*
Mugwort leaves
*
Red Clover flowers
*
Sweet Cicely leaves
*
Tansy
Tansy (''Tanacetum vulgare'') is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant in the genus ''Tanacetum'' in the aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, including North America, and in ...
*
Thyme leaves
*
Water Mint
''Mentha aquatica'' (water mint; syn. ''Mentha hirsuta'' Huds.Euro+Med Plantbase Project''Mentha aquatica'') is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa ...
leaves
*
White Clover
*
Wood Sage leaves
(*) = non-Islay botanical
Reviews and reception
The Botanist received critical acclaim for its first distillation, with features in both gin and whisky blogs and reviews.
Awards
The Botanist was awarded the Diamond prize at the Monaco Concours of the Femmes et Spiriteux du Monde in 2011.
Femmes et Spiriteux du Monde
2011
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botanist Gin
Gins