Ghosts of the Ocean Botanical Dry Gin

Ghosts of the Ocean was conceived by Ali Bullock of The Gin Library, at the Solar Branco Eco Estate on São Miguel, and the Botanical Dry GinDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins is the core of the range. The idea is simple to state: take the Atlantic surrounding the Azores, put it into the base spirit, then build a dry gin on top of it.

Citrus · Dry · Herbal · Earthy

That is literally how the recipe starts. Azorean seaweed goes into the base spirit, bringing a faint salinity and a mineral depth for the other botanicals to rest on. Twelve botanicals complete the picture. Juniper, 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 and coriander seed give the classic frame. Rosemary, lemon thyme and Azorean mint form a herbal layer, the mint cool, the thyme lemony, the rosemary resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary. The citrus is unusually wide: Azorean lemon, lime and lemon myrtle, an Australian leaf whose aroma is more intensely lemony than the fruit itself. Ginger and cardamom add warmth and a fresh spice at the end.

With so many lemon-scented ingredients, the gin has a bright, clean top, and the seaweed keeps it from turning into a simple citrus gin: the salinity sharpens the herbs and gives the finish length. At 40%, it stays light and fresh, a dry gin made to be drunk long. The same seaweed base runs through the whole Ghosts of the Ocean range, including the Baleia edition, which pares the list back to the island's most direct herbs.

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 is the natural partner, with less quinineQuinineAn alkaloid from cinchona bark that gives tonic its bitterness. The British in India drank it against malaria and added gin: the gin and tonic was born.Glossary to compete with the herbs. Four centilitres of gin, ten of tonic, a glass filled with ice, then a sprig of thyme and a lime wheel. The thyme picks up the lemon thyme of the recipe and the lime its sharpest citrus, so the garnish repeats the gin rather than decorating it. Keep everything cold and stir only once.