The Botanist Islay Dry Gin (375ML half-bottle)
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The Botanist is the first Islay Dry Gin and a progressive and sustainable exploration of the botanical heritage of our remote Scottish island. The Botanist is a gin of layered complexity. A progressive exploration of the botanical heritage of our Isle of Islay. Nine classic gin botanicals are augmented by 22 local herbs and flowers, foraged responsibly and by hand from the hills, shores and bogs of this fertile Hebridean island by our own professional forager. The result is a rollercoaster botanical odyssey in a glass.
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.
Enjoying an enthusiastic resurgence in modern cocktail culture, Gin, a.k.a. ‘Dutch Courage,’ was originally touted as a 16th century cure for cowardice and stomach ailments. Arguably the broadest and most dynamic category of spirits in terms of flavor profiles and production styles, Gin is a distilled grain spirit that derives its primary flavor from juniper berries and secondary flavors from a dazzling array of spices, herbs, fruits and botanicals. It is both produced and enjoyed all around the world and is most commonly mixed into cocktails such as the Martini or simply added to tonic water.