The Botanist: Gin Review
TJ Shirk • August 17, 2021
Photo by Mike Taylor
There is gin being made in nearly every corner of the world. One area in particular has recently peaked my interest. The Isle of Islay Scotland. Islay (pronounced “eye-luh”) is a prominent Scotch whisky region. One of my favourites. Known for whiskies with a rich peat smoke aroma and flavour. Some famous Islay single malts are Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin. I was recently made aware of an Islay gin being produced by a prominent whisky distillery. In this article I will be reviewing that gin.
The Botanist is an Islay dry gin produced by Bruichladdich (pronounced “Brook lah-dee”) distillery, using 22 foraged botanicals from the Isle of Islay. The spirit begins with nine core botanicals before the addition of the 22 native Islay botanicals making a flavourful gin of 31 botanicals! The nine core botanicals (barks, berries, seeds and peels) are cassia, coriander, juniper, orange, cinnamon, lemon, liquorice, angelica root and orris root. These nine botanicals comprise the rhythm section of this super group. The 22 Islay botanicals are apple mint, chamomile, creeping thistle, downy birch, elder, gorse, hawthorn, heather, juniper, Lady’s bedstraw, lemon balm, meadowsweet, mugwort, red clover, spearmint, sweet cicely, bog myrtle, tansy, water mint, white clover, wild thyme, and wood sage. Add some wormwood and asphodel and you’d have yourself a potion to rival the likes of Neville Longbottom! Kidding aside, the botanicals are foraged for seven months every year by James Donaldson, for The Botanist. Hand picked from all over the 620 square kilometer island.
The Botanist is simmer distilled. Meaning the spirit is distilled at a lower temperature over a longer period of time. The core botanicals steep for 12 hours in the spirit before being brought up to a simmer, where the vapours pass through the 22 foraged botanicals set in loose muslin bags and then through the condenser where it returns to liquid to be sampled before finishing.
The Botanist is bottled at 46% ABV and is elegantly packaged in a beautiful embossed bottle with a simple label. The embossing on the bottle is the Latin names of all 22 foraged botanicals.
In the glass the gin is perfectly colourless. Immediately after pouring I was met with aromas of mint, grapefruit and juniper. Upon allowing the gin to breathe for several minutes it opened up to a warmer woody and baking spice aroma. The viscosity is that of water but with great legs in the glass.
On the palate I get a burst of citrus right away that evolves to a warm baking spice smoothness. It has a long finish that is multi-tonal. It begins warm and woody and moves into an almost cooling menthol. The mouthfeel is delicate and sophisticated. Very akin to a whisky. Perfect to be enjoyed neat. The alcohol is present but is not overpowering.
The Botanist is very well crafted. It would be a welcomed addition to any bar. It is very versatile and if I wasn’t sipping it neat or on ice I would be using it with a variety of different tonics. The lemon and elderflower tonic waters from Fevertree make for an excellent, refreshing drink to beat the summer heat. Enjoy it in martinis and negronis as well.
I would rate The Botanist 9/10! A Very approachable gin. A must try for any gin lover. I would recommend it to any scotch drinker looking to expand outside of the whisky realm.
The Botanist can be found at LCBO at $54 for the 750mL bottle. There are some beautiful videos as well as great information at
thebotanist.com
The incredible photo above was taken by Mike Taylor at Mike Taylor Photo Arts. Mike is a photographer from Peterborough Ontario, specializing in alcohol product photography. You can find more of Mike's work on his website at
miketaylorphotoarts.com or his Instagram
@picsmiketaylor.
*Oenzym is not affiliated with The Botanist, Bruichladdich or it's partners. Products were purchased for the purpose of review.