The Botanist 4 Items Follow

Wild. Local. Seasonal. Foraged.

These are words people have begun to associate with some of the world's most innovative chefs -- Renee Redzepi, Megnus Nilsson, David Chang, the Cook it Raw experimentalists and many others -- chefs who are looking into the cycles of nature for their ingredients rather than towards a shop or supplier. Perhaps simply to try something new. To make something theirs. To challenge themselves. Perhaps fro a yearning for connection. Perhaps the desire to paint with fresh colors. Perhaps for thrill. For discovery. For passion. For inspiration. To connect. For fun. Or just because. Everyone has their own reasons.

The Botanist team also reaches for the wild. Their inspiration comes from Islay, their wild, fertile, Herbridean island home on the west coast of Scotland. The 22 botanicals used to make The Botanist speak of the place, of the seasons, of the island's spirit. The Botanist is then a manifestation of the team's island home. Of the botanists who go out into its landscape and of the distillers who coax the delicate spirit into being. But this is just the starting point of the botanical journey. The team creates the spirit. But you create the drinks.

The team has been working with wonderful people -- inspired and progressive bartenders such as Thomas Aske and Ally Kelsay, forager and foraging tutor Mark Williams, chefs Craig Grozier and Jack Buchanan to name just a few. Together they taste the landscapes of Islay, exploring the boundaries where wild, foraging, food and drinks merge.