THE GINTHUSIAST

Looking for a perfect cocktail to serve on Valentine's Day?  Look no further, here are five gin-based cocktails to try.

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.