The traditionally English spirit has been dominated by Scotland for some years. Now, Islay’s The Botanist has released an extra-strength gin and it packs a flavourful punch
There may be a drive in London bars to offer more low- and no-alcohol cocktails, but most bartenders who understand flavour intricately will tell you that higher ABV drinks carry more intense flavours and release aromas more readily – as long as the alcoholic content is not so strong that it numbs your senses.
The Botanist Distiller’s Strength takes one of the world’s most popular premium gins and turns the ABV up to 50%. This is in response to demands from bartenders who love the foraged Islay botanicals in the original gin, but felt they were overpowered in cocktails with other strong flavours, such as a negroni.
There was a time when gin was the quintessential English drink – London Dry, Beefeater, Plymouth. No one could have believed at the end of the 20th century that there could be gin being made in other parts of the UK. And yet, across the gulf of Hadrian’s Wall, distilleries immeasurably superior to ours regarded this quick-to-produce, unaged spirit with envious eyes. And slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us. Which is the HG Wells version of how Scotland came to produce three quarters of Britain’s gin.
It made financial sense for Scotch whisky distilleries to bosh out gin but, Scottish distillers and blenders being what they are – proud producers of flavour – as soon as the money-making projects were handed over to the creative crafters, they took it as a challenge to make gin better… a premium gin like a single malt or high-end blended Scotch. At the turn of the millennium came Hendrick’s (admittedly created by Yorkshirewoman Lesley Gracie, but she’d been at William Grant & Sons for years by then) and Tanqueray No. Ten (a citrus-forward expression for martinis, invented by Tom Nichol, who most recently created Brad Pitt’s The Gardener gin) arrived after the London-based gin moved to Fife. Then, a decade later, came the small-batch gins from whisky distilleries, made with foraged local ingredients – Caorunn, from the Balmenach Distillery in Speyside (created by Simon Buley); and The Botanist, from Bruichladdich on Islay.
The recipe for a distinctly Hebridean island gin was developed by the then-master distiller of Bruichladdich, Jim McEwan, when the distillery was owned by an investment group headed by Mark Reynier, the champion of terroir in spirits. McEwan enlisted the help of Dr and Mrs Gulliver (he a botanist; she an educator and expert on the island) and together they identified 33 local botanicals that would combine with nine classic gin ingredients (the likes of citrus peels; cassia and cinnamon bark; orris, liquorice and angelica root), then narrowed the list down to 22.
For this new take on The Botanist, Adam Hannett, head distiller at Bruichladdich since McEwan’s retirement in 2015, has not changed the recipe of botanicals, but feels the 50 per cent ABV strength (100 proof in the US) changes the way the flavours are perceived: ‘I was inspired by Bruichladdich Distillery’s long-practiced art of bottling whisky at 50 per cent ABV. At this strength, flavourful oils from distillation are enhanced, the viscosity is richer and it’s this richness that carries the flavours of the spirit.’
The marketing director at Bruichladdich Distillery added, ‘Our carefully considered innovation strategy for The Botanist focuses on building the core brand credentials – Distiller’s Strength is another great example of this, complementing the innovation pipeline really well.’ But let’s draw a veil over that gibberish, leave him nameless to spare his blushes, and open the bottle…
I tested The Botanist Distiller’s Strength (£39.95 from specialist retailers) in a Gibson martini (don’t judge – sometimes only a couple of mini pickled onions will do as a garnish) with a fruity Belsazar riesling vermouth. It wears its extra strength comfortably and that viscosity is evident, and the effect is to carry the fresh and aromatic botanicals at the crest of the flavour wave – apple mint, water mint, lemon balm and the floral elements of sweet chamomile, clover, heather, gorse and elderflowers. It may well emphasise sweet cicely and meadow sweet too, but I’m less familiar with those plants. It’s not overly sweet, though – the juniper-led core forms a sturdy backbone. In conclusion, the low-alcohol martinis will have to wait.
