THE GINTHUSIAST

In our August 2020 box, we were pleased to present Le Point G Gin, a premium gin from Toulouse, which was first introduced in 2017, well before the gin trend began in France.

Once upon a time, there was a partnership between a mixologist and a master distiller, from a family who has been making liqueurs for five generations, located on la route du Pastel, a pivotal position at the gates of Toulouse, the Pyrenees, and the Mediterranean. Their elixir is composed of eleven ingredients, with spirulina and violet as essential ingredients. A genuine emblem of the Toulouse region, and familiar to Benoît Serres, whose father is the creator of the first violet liqueur in the 1950s, this flower offers a gourmet and floral aspect to gin, while bringing a certain roundness to alcohol, which is usually very dry. Spirulina, on the other hand, provides the marine element and chlorophyll and is considered as a nutrient-dense food, very rich in protein, iron, vitamins, and minerals. This delicious combination of land and sea gave birth to Le Point G Gin.

Amber Blood Gin was launched in 2020. The name "Amber Blood" is directly linked to its production process and the use of some of the most important botanicals in their gin. The process begins with a first maceration of juniper berries and elderflowers. As a result, the alcohol takes on a yellow hue of Amber. Then, the alcohol is filtered, and the elderberries are macerated. After a few hours, the mixture becomes a deep red color. The mixture passes successively from an amber hue to the color of blood, hence the name Amber Blood. 

We are proud to present Gin Phi, a balanced and fresh-tasting gin from Alsace. Using a contemporary approach, Gin Phi is elaborated from a good gin base, with woody and resinous aromas and a citrus profile. It provides a clean freshness on the nose and a medium finish on the palate, with floral notes to give roundness. This gin is craft distilled using a 50-liter column still, which allows to adapt and perfect the creation of aromas, as the distillation is followed with attention and precision.

C'est Nous Gin is made from wheat-based neutral alcohol. After an extended maceration of juniper berries, orange and lemon zest, angelica root, coriander, and some other botanicals, the spirit is distilled slowly in small batches (300 bottles) in a custom, traditional, copper alembic to create an aromatic and fragrant gin.

Since the release of C'est Nous Gin, the distillery has been delighted to win Bronze and Silver medals at the International Spirit Challenge and also Best French Gin at the World Gin Awards 2019 & 2020.

We are delighted to present to you the first batch of Poulpe Bleu Gin, named after the legendary blue octopus of Provence, famous for getting out of the water at night to sample the botanicals of its inlets. He would appreciate the finesse of this maceration of juniper berries and botanicals characteristic of their beautiful Mediterranean coastline: thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, sea criste, almond, and rose petals. 

Poulpe Bleu is a maceration gin made from 51% juniper berries. They add several botanical macerations or essential oils, namely thyme, rosemary, sea Criste, almond, lemon zest, rose, angelica, iris root, and seaweed. The neutral base alcohol used is made from beetroot. They carry out the macerations onsite, as well as the blending and bottling. A vacuum still is used for the distillation process.

Avem Hippolais is a London Dry Gin, which is distilled in small batches in collaboration with Christophe Gauville, master cognac distiller at the Distillerie des Moisans. The first batch of Gin Avem (1188 bottles) was distilled in November 2019 and bottled in two batches in November and January.

Gin Avem is made using the double distillation process, using Charentais stills. The neutral alcohol base used is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Semillon grapes harvested in the Bordeaux region. Because it is not a grain alcohol gin, it is 100% gluten-free.

December 2019's French gin selection is a newcomer on the market—an ultra-premium gin from the beautiful "Garden of France"—the Occitanie region in the South of France—a haven for winemakers, with a climate producing some of the world’s finest grapes. It is the love of these grapes that has formed the basis for this precious gin, Saint Amans.

Coqlicorne Distillery's artisanal spirits are inspired by old traditional recipes (their rum recipe dates back to 1881!) from Scotland and France, but also from the fusion of several recipes they’ve come up with on their own. They are equipped with a traditional pot still, made entirely of copper, and their spirits are always "double distilled" at a minimum (their vodka is distilled 4 times!), a guarantee of quality. Spirits are made entirely in France by their care from A to Z. They are also fermented, distilled, aged and bottled at the distillery. 

Our April 2019 box's small-batch, artisanal gin comes from a small village along the Drac River surrounded by beautiful mountains in the heart of the Auvergne Rhone-Alpes region. The distillery, which makes both whisky and gin, was founded in 2015 by childhood friends Dorian Vieux-Pernon and Pascal Knipiler. They believe that in order to create something new, one must experiment, play and reconnect with their intuition. Striking a balance where aromas and flavors harmonise is key. 

Our February 2019 box featured the award-winning gin that hails from the Auvergne Rhone-Alpes region of France. Meunier’s Gin is distilled by their master distiller, who uses a small copper customized pot still. The distiller uses the “one-shot” distillation method—a method preferred by most artisanal distillers. The distillery produces about 2000 liters per year in small batches yielding around 3000 bottles.

The gin is made by using a neutral base spirit made of beetroot which is distilled along with a balanced mix of 12 botanicals, giving the gin a very unique flavor profile. The botanicals used are the following: organic juniper berries, black elderberries, Goji berries, coriander, nutmeg, cardamom, fennel, orris, angelica, licorice, pomegranate, and orange peels.

Our first box (December 2018) featured Ginette Gin. Jean-Paul Zusslin and his sister, Marie, are the 13th generation to manage Domaine Valentin Zusslin, an award-winning organic and biodynamic winery, nestled in the small village of Orschwihr in the heart of Alsatian wine country.

Following proudly in the footsteps of his grandfather, Jean-Paul is not only a passionate winemaker, but he is also a passionate distiller. He began making gin in the spring of 2018 using the rare and "not so sexy" practice, as he put it, of distilling a spirit from a natural by-product from the aging and fermentation of their wines––the lees (i.e., the dead yeast cells). Once the lees have been distilled into alcohol, organic juniper berries and key botanicals, such as cardamom, ginger, bergamot, and lemon zest, are all macerated separately in the alcohol, then blended together and distilled a second time. The final spirit is a fresh-tasting organic gin that has been produced over four batches, resulting in a quantity of around 500 liters.