The Botanist is a dry gin made by the Bruichladdich Distillery in Islay, Scotland. It is one of two gins made on the island and is known for its hand-foraged botanicals. Each year, between March and October, the botanicals used in the gin are collected from all over Islay by professional foragers.

The Botanist is incredibly smooth, with delicate notes of menthol, apple mint, spring woodlands, juniper, coriander, aniseed, lemon and orange, flowers, honey, and more. It is cool on the entry but becomes warm as it reaches the back of the palate for a luxurious, rich feel.

Nine traditional botanicals (wild Islay juniper berries, cassia bark, angelica root, coriander seed, cinnamon bark, lemon and orange peel, liquorice root and oris root) form the Botanist's base flavour, augmented with 22 native Islay botanicals.

Because it drinks like a London dry, this bottling is a natural match for classic gin cocktails, according to our reviewers. “This is one of my favorite Martini gins, absolutely stunning with a lemon twist,” says Morgenthaler, who also adds that it would work well in a Gin Fizz.

The experience of drinking The Botanist is one of a kind Immediately a bouquet of herbal freshness, juniper and sweet citrus come to the fore. Allow a little time to open and the sweet, spicy and earthy notes of cassia and coriander set a base for the delicate complexity of the Islay 22.

Cool mint and juniper, slightly pine-forward juniper at first. Citrus, primarily lemon zest on the early mid-palate before sweet spices and flower come through. Woodruff, chamomile and herbs de provence. Warm juniper late with echoes of vanilla cream, licorice and birch bark.

Gin has an herbal flavor marked with citrus and spices. Most gin is dry with a noticeable pine flavor because juniper dominates traditional recipes. The oldest styles tend to be sweeter while modern styles put less emphasis on the juniper and may focus on another herb, fruit, or spice flavor.

Distilled using 22 hand-foraged Islay botanicals, The Botanist is a gin of layered complexity. Built by brothers William, John and Robert Harvey in 1881, Bruichladdich Distillery has built its maverick reputation on traditional Victorian distillation methods and a progressive, convention-challenging attitude.

Method

1. Pour The Botanist into an ice-filled highball glass.
2. Top up with premium tonic water.
3. Garnish with a spring of rosemary and a grapefruit wheel.

2010 2010. Jim McEwan, Adam Hannett and Allan Logan ran the first distillation. They are amazed by the quality of the gin they had just created…

"What's termed a 'dry gin' means there's no added (artificial) flavoring, the flavors are all natural from the botanicals," said our gin guide, plus no added sweeteners. "If the gin has sweetness, it's more than likely it contained a botanical like licorice."

Put quite simply, gin is a spirit whose dominant flavour comes from juniper berries, but with other botanicals in the mix. It has a piney, often citrusy, and sometimes floral aromas, and tastes great with tonic water.

Gin is a flavored alcoholic beverage with juniper as its predominant flavorant, usually produced by distillation in copper stills traditionally used for spirit production. In addition to juniper, many botanicals, notably coriander, cardamom, orange peel, and angelica root, may be used to add supplemental flavors.

Botanists study the biology of plants, fungi and other organisms, such as lichens and algae. Through the study of plants, botanists can record the impacts of human activity on the environment; the way plants breed and grow, as well as the structure and genetic make-up of various species.

The best way to bring out the 22 subtle botanicals The Botanist? Serve it simply, with tonic and rosemary.

Gin typically has a strong aroma and taste of citrus because citrus peels are often used in the gin making process. Most gin will start with these two flavours and then move into hints of other aromatics, like cardamom and coriander.