Sanglier Le Gin Des Ardennes

Resin is an actual ingredient here, not a tasting metaphor. It sits on the list beside fir buds, and the two of them are why this gin smells of standing timber rather than of a bar. Sanglier makes it in Belgium at 40%, in a 50 cl bottle, on five botanicals and no more.

Woody · Dry · Spicy · Herbal · Earthy

Five leaves nothing to lean on. Juniper supplies the structure the category requires and the first thing the nose meets. Fir buds follow with a bright coniferous green, the smell of new growth rather than of cut wood. Resin then adds depth and body underneath, balsamic and slightly sticky, and the weight on the palate comes from it. Angelica rootAngelicaThe root of a tall umbellifer, earthy and musky. After juniper and coriander it is the most common botanical: it binds the aromas and holds the finish.Glossary keeps everything grounded with a dry, earthy backbone. Caraway seed is the only real departure: warm, faintly aniseed, with an aromatic bitterness that stops the recipe from turning soft. No citrus anywhere, an absence rare enough to place the style on its own.

The effect on the nose is closer to walking into conifer woodland than to opening a bottle: dry needles, soft resin, roots, wild herbs.

The palate stays in the same register, dry and herbal throughout, and the finish is woody and gently spiced with a forest note that persists rather than a sweet or citric close.

The bottle belongs to the Sanglier world in Durbuy, the Ardennes project carried by La Petite Merveille and associated with Marc Coucke. A gin named after a forest and then built from five things that actually grow in one is a narrower proposition than the theme suggests.

A Mediterranean tonicMediterranean tonicA tonic with less bitterness and sugar, scented with herbs and citrus (rosemary, thyme, lemon). It leaves more room for the gin's botanicals.Glossary supports the resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary side without covering it. Clear iceClear iceIce without air bubbles, made by slow, directional freezing. Denser, it melts more slowly and dilutes less.Glossary, a measured pour and a restrained garnish: juniper berriesJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary, and a pine branch passed briefly through a flame for its aroma. That branch is there to be smelled, not eaten, and should be treated accordingly.