Gin Wackes

Wackes is a collaboration between two Alsatian addresses: Le Douanier, a cocktail bar in Strasbourg, and Distillerie Officine in Colmar. The name is an Alsatian word for a rascal, and the gin sets out to capture the mischievous, ingenious spirit of Alsace in a 70 cl bottle at 42%.

Citrus · Dry · Herbal

Distillerie Officine has been making gin since 2018. Run by Baptiste, it works from a converted barn in the market garden district of Colmar, where two small alembicsPot stillA traditional still, often copper, that distils in batches. It keeps more texture and character than a column.Glossary allow an artisanal, small-batchSmall batchProduction in small quantities per distillation run, often in a small still. The term has no legal definition.Glossary production. The range also includes Gin Phi, Gin Tau and a limited blue gin that turns violet with tonic, and Wackes was developed with the team of Le Douanier, which uses it in its own cocktails.

The gin database Ginventory describes fresh notes of grapefruit and rosemary, in a gin presented as a true reflection of Alsatian identity, with carefully selected ingredients and controlled distillation. A French retailer also highlights vineyard peach, Douglas fir and lemongrass in the aroma, with persistent peach and citrus notes on the palate, so the gin moves between bright citrus, green, resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary herbs and ripe orchard fruit, with juniper as the dry backbone.

At Le Douanier, Wackes has appeared in cocktails with osmanthus syrup and egg white, or with vermouthVermouthAn aromatised, fortified wine flavoured with herbs and barks; its name comes from the German Wermut, wormwood. Dry vermouth goes into a Martini, sweet red into a Negroni.Glossary blanc and a rosemary tonic, which shows how easily it adapts behind a bar. At home it can be enjoyed neat or with tonic: a delicate tonic leaves the grapefruit and rosemary fresh, a thin slice of pink grapefruit or a sprig of rosemary makes a simple garnish, and a slice of peach suits its orchard side in summer.