10 Gins with Unique Botanicals

By Isabella Cruz

Traditional juniper notes in gin are the norm, but as distillers attempt to stand out from the rest and offer a genuine, diverse experience to drinkers, the botanicals used in gin making are becoming more and more unusual.

Check out a few of the more interesting ingredients in gin.

Gunpowder

Gunpowder Gin

Drumshanbo Irish Gin

Drumshanbo Irish Gin from The Shed Distillery in Co Leitrim is an oriental-inspired spirit made of slowly dried gunpowder tea, and also lime, lemon, and grapefruit.


Seaweed

Seaweed Gin

Seaweed Gin

Dà Mhìle Distillery’s Seaweed Gin is infused with Newquay Coast seaweed for a total of three weeks to get its refreshing, coastal saltiness flavor. It is triple filtered before being bottled and is actually designed to complement seafood!


Ants

Anty Gin

Anty Gin

Yep—ants! Cambridge Distillery’s Anty Gin is born from a collaboration with the Nordic Food Lab, and it’s the very first gin in the world to be made from insects. Every bottle contains approximately 62 red wood ants, as well as juniper, wild wood avens and nettle to complement the sharp notes created from distilling ants. A 5cl dropper of pure ant distillate is provided to experience the unique flavor or enhance the citrus in the spirit.


Cocoa

Hotel Chocolat Cocoa Gin

Hotel Chocolat Cocoa Gin

Hotel Chocolat’s award winning cocoa gin has a malty, toasted edge with peppery notes of roasted cocoa shells and macadamia nuts. Orange and grapefruit offer a zesty finish to this gin.


Hop

Eden Mill Hop Gin

Eden Mill Hop Gin

Eden Mill St. Andrews Hop Gin was inspired by a passion for crafting beer. Made from Australian Galaxy hop, its beer-flavored gin is the perfect mix of citrus and zesty freshness.


Lavender

Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin

Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin

Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin was the first premium gin to showcase lavender as the lead flavor botanical. Subtle notes of juniper and lavender are lifted with lime and sweet citrus.


Fresh Cream

Worship Street Cream Gin

Worship Street Cream Gin

Worship Street Whistling Shop’s Cream Gin is cold distilled using fresh cream as a botanical to capture the fresh flavor of cream in a clear spirit.


Jinzu

Jinzu Gin

Jinzu Gin

Jinzu Gin combines English and Japanese traditions to create this intriguing spirit. It is a blend Scottish gin (featuring coriander, juniper, angelica, yuzu, and Japanese cherry blossom as core botanicals) and sake, bringing a luxurious, creamy mouthfeel and subtle sweet flavor.


Baked Apple and Salted Caramel Gin

Baked Apple and Salted Caramel Gin

Baked Apple and Salted Caramel Gin

This sweet gin liqueur is crafted by Poetic License Distillery and has the “tempting aroma of spiced apple.” Flavors of this gin include sweet, cooked apples and warm cinnamon.


Pinkster Gin

Pinkster Gin

Pinkster Gin

This gin’s pink hue is au natural thanks to the fresh raspberries, in which it is hand steeped. The gentle fruity flavor makes it the perfect addition to a Martini or the classic G & T.

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