Spirit of the Creuse

Three hundred and fifty bottles: that is the whole run of Spirit of the Creuse, the Concept Gin 2025 from Distillerie Le Compas. Sven Gielkens and Marianne Van Der Lubbe left banking in Switzerland to open the distillery at Le Compas, near Auzances in eastern Creuse, and this barrel-agedBarrel-aged ginGin rested for a while in wooden casks. It picks up a golden colour and notes of vanilla, spice or the wine that filled the cask before.GlossarySee Barrel-aged gin gins release is their annual one-off, bottled at 48% ABV.

Woody · Limited Edition · Spicy

Eleven hand-picked botanicals go into it, among them smoked juniper berriesJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary and local honey, the two that shape both aroma and texture. The classical frame is juniper, coriander and cardamom; over that, the makers describe dominant notes of pepper, grapefruit and honey. The gin then rests five months in acacia casks, and that wood is what turns it into something else: acacia is gentler than oak and brings out vanilla and lemongrass rather than tannin.

The smoked juniper is a light touch rather than a peat-like statement, a whisper of smoke behind the resin. Honey gives a perceived richness and a rounder mouthfeel without making the gin sweet, and the pepper keeps a dry, spicy line running through the middle. The strength carries all of it: at 48% the drink is concentrated and warming, and the finish is long, wood and spice trailing over juniper with that honeyed softness underneath.

This is a bottle for slow drinking. Neat in a small glass, or over a single large ice cubeLarge iceOne large block melts far more slowly than several small cubes, so the drink stays cold without watering down.Glossary to open the aromatics, is how the cask work shows best; a tonic would cover the acacia and the smoke. If you do lengthen it, keep the mixer short and skip the garnish. It was launched at the Limoges Spirit Festival in 2025, and a run this size makes it a gin to try when the chance arises rather than one to build a cocktail list around for the whole of the season ahead.