Mi Gin Spicy Bio

Spice carries Mi Gin Spicy Bio from start to finish. Michel Bouillon makes it at Verlaine, in the province of Liège, by infusing and then distilling juniper berries with nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and ginger, and the organic gin goes out at 43% ABV in 50cl.

Organic · Dry · Spicy · Herbal

The maker learned his trade at the Radermacher distillery in Raeren, working alongside his father and brother before setting up on his own, which is how a range like this one gets written: products he wanted to drink and could not find. The spice list reads like a baker's shelf, but the treatment is dry rather than sweet. Nutmeg opens the palate, cinnamon follows with its rounded warmth, clove holds a long sustained note, and ginger closes with a spicy, faintly citrussy lift.

That sequence is unusually easy to follow, which is the great strength of a short recipe like this one.

On the nose the spices arrive together, warm and inviting, with juniper resin behind them keeping the whole thing anchored.

The palate confirms the order the maker describes, and the texture stays lean, so the gin tastes spiced rather than sugary. It finishes long and warming, ginger and clove lasting after the cinnamon has gone, and there is no sweetness added at any point.

Michel Bouillon recommends drinking it neat, for the pleasure of the spices alone, and that really is the best way to make the acquaintance of this bottle. As a long drink, count 4cl of gin against 10cl of a classic tonic over ice, with a slice of fresh ginger if you want to push the spice further, and leave the citrus out of it. It also makes a natural base for winter cocktails and for hot drinks, where nutmeg and clove do the work that a spice syrup usually has to take on by itself.