I’ve been on a big gin kick for past few months, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for some new and interesting bottles, especially ones from smaller distilleries. And, when I came across Jewell Gin, I was immediately intrigued by the elegant label and high proof. The family-owned Jewell Distillery is located in Blue Lake, California, a small city in Humboldt county in northern California. The owners, Michael and Barbara Jewell, use their vintage still from the prohibition era to make small batch gins. Their flagship, Jewell Gin, begins with a spirit made from organic Italian wheat that’s vapor infused with 13 different botanicals. These […]
I can tell the popularity of gin is increasing rapidly, because I keep seeing bottles from unexpected places in the United States. In fact, I think this bottle of Silo Gin is the first spirit I’ve ever seen from a Vermont distillery. Owners of Silo Distillery Peter Jillson and Ann Marie Delaney, first established the distillery in 2013. Inspired by Vermont’s natural beauty, the pair had a mission to make spirits using local ingredients. They started with a corn based vodka, but have since expand their offerings to include gin, whiskey and cider. The recipe for Silo Gin is fairly simple. Local corn and apples are mixed with juniper […]
Ginarte Dry Gin is produced by Ginarte SRL, an Italy-based spirits company. As a brand, Ginarte is inspired by the various botanicals that were used to produce pigments in the era of renaissance artists. The recipe includes 13 botanicals including juniper berries, calamint, safflower, mignonette, rubia, indigo, wild celery, lavender, hibiscus, elderflower, pine buds, mountain pine, and pine needles.
To start, the juniper berries are infused in wheat alcohol before being distilled in a discontinuous vacuum alembic still. The botanicals are then distilled using using the same process but a slightly different ABV of wheat alcohol. During […]
I’m usually an easy mark for novel spirit bottles, but Engine Organic Gin is probably my favorite design to date. The bold red, blue, and white immediately stood out, and I knew I had to try it. Paolo Dalla Mora, fashion and spirit entrepreneur, was inspired by both racing aesthetics from the 1970’s and 80’s, and Rosolios, a traditional Italian sweet liqueur. Rosolios is a popular digestive in Piedmont, the region where Engine is produced, and is commonly made using lemon and sage. With Italian traditions being a big inspiration for Engine, most of the ingredients are sourced from across Italy. The gin is made using lemons from Sicily, licorice roots from Calabria, sage and damask rose […]
Maybe I was a bit too influenced by Ryan Reynolds’ handsome face, because I was pretty eager to try Aviation Gin. But, I was also looking to try some affordable American gin, so maybe that’s not a bad thing. Aviation Gin was first created by Portland, Oregon based House Spirts in in the mid 2000’s. Years of growth drew attention from larger spirit companies and celebrities, and the Davos Group and actor Ryan Reynolds bought the brand with House Spirts continuing to distill the gin in their facilities. Aviation was bought a second time by Diageo in 2020 with Ryan Reynolds retaining an ownership interest. Aviation is made with seven […]