What’s in a name? Let us explore the complexity of this artisanal dry gin from the herbidean Isle of Islay, whose perfected formula is rooted in the heart and soul of a Scottish botanical heritage
The Latin names of the 22 botanicals making up The Botanist are embossed on the bottle as well as the promise of a deliciously good time: “A rollercoaster botanical odyssey in a glass.”
While the eye-catching design of the bottle is in itself inviting, what’s inside, however is—while trying (impossibly) to not be cliché here—intoxicatingly addictive.
To start, let us delve into the nine classic baseline gin botanicals of this first and only Islay dry gin. These are your more recognisable expressions typically formulated from berries, barks, seeds, and peels. Examples of these chief aromatics are orris root, cassia bark, coriander seed, and the like.
The unique characteristics, however, that make this sip such an inimitable and flavourful experience are derived from the local herbs and flowers hand-foraged from the Isle of Islay that delicately augment the nine. In a bottle, these essentially make up the unique selling proposition of The Botanist.
Said key ingredients are agriculturally endemic to this remote Scottish island. In their modern-day, “non-scientific” forms, these are apple mint, sweet chamomile, creeping thistle, downy birch, elder, gorse (whin), hawthorn, heather, juniper, lady’s bedstraw, lemon balm, meadowsweet, mugwort, red clover, spear mint, sweet cicely, bog myrtle (sweet gale), tansy, water mint, white clover, wild thyme, and wood sage. Now there’s a mouthful!
Once you have all your 31 pieces of the taste and bouquet puzzle, the intricate process transitions into an achingly slow distillation, which takes place right on Islay. Finally, this layered and complex libation is bottled at the distillery using natural spring water.
The finished product can be described as rich and mellow all at once. A first tip-of-the-tongue taste renders it “cool” upon entry with a citrusy freshness to excite and stimulate the taste buds. Passing over the palate, it then warms up and develops into a deep, rich and spicy explosion of flavours.
