Forest Dry Gin Spring

The base spirit for this one is grown before it is distilled. Forest Spirits works with an organic farm at Emblem, near Antwerp, where the cereals that become the alcohol are raised on site, and that is a longer chain of control than almost any gin producer attempts. Jurgen Lijcops, a sommelier by trade, assembles twenty-four botanicals on top of it, each one distilled separately, and bottles the spring edition at 42%.

Citrus · Spicy · Floral · Herbal

Growing your own grain matters because the base is half of what you taste. Cereal raised and distilled in the same place gives a rounder, slightly sweeter foundation than a bought neutral spiritNeutral spiritAgricultural spirit rectified to at least 96% ABV, almost tasteless. It is the base later flavoured with botanicals.Glossary, and everything above it sits on that softness. Rose petals lead the aroma, which is a bold choice for a first impression and only works because the flower is not asked to carry the whole thing. Lemon zest cuts across it, keeping the rose from turning perfumed. Raspberry fills the middle with a tart red fruit that suits the season the bottle is named for. Then the peppery spices arrive and change the direction entirely, a dry heat that lands after the fruit rather than with it, and the root botanicals close everything with a herbal bitterness that lingers well past the finish. The colour is a deep amber, unusual for a spring release.

Layers arranged this deliberately deserve a glass that keeps them apart. Take an unflavoured tonic, a well-filled glass, and a pour generous enough that the rose survives. Lemon peel is the garnish closest to the recipe; a single raspberry suits anyone wanting the fruit pushed forward, and a rose petal is the showier third option. A sommelier building a gin thinks in structure before flavour, and the peppery close is where that shows. It ends floral, fruity and bitter-edged.