The Botanist Gin

Written by Brian Donnelly, CSS, WSET III

Location: Bruichladdich Distillery, Rhinns of the Isle of Islay, Scotland

Established: 2011

Fun Fact: The Latin names of the 22 botanicals are embossed on the exterior of the bottle.

The Botanist is a small batch, artisan style gin, produced by redistilling in the London Dry style, and is the only gin made on the Island of Islay.

History

In 2008, former Bruichladdich Master Distiller Jim McEwan was looking to buy old Victorian equipment from the former Iverleven distillery in Dumbarton, before it was demolished. He was looking for equipment to serve as spare parts at his distillery in Islay. After surveying the facilities, he found an extremely fair Lomond Still and convinced the demolition manager to sell it off the books, and it was ferried from Dumbarton to Islay. Using this still, he set out to craft a gin, which was already a popular spirit on the island.

Jim McEwan, an Islay native, had extensive knowledge of the island’s plant life and wildflowers. Together with two botanists, Dr. Richard and Mavis Gulliver, and they selected 40 botanicals from the Island of Islay, which they eventually narrowed down to 22. These botanicals were harvested by season, and a replanting program was created.

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The Still

The Lomond Still was developed after World War II as an experimental hybrid still, between a column and a pot still. It was designed to create a variety of different whisky types from a single still. The key part of the design was a thick column-like neck, which could be interchanged with three removable parts to imitate different neck lengths. There were only four Lomond Still ever produced. Back at the Bruichladdich distillery, Jim McEwan fixed the baffle plates at a 45-degree angle and added a special water jacket.

Production

The base for Botanist is a 190 proof (95% ABV) neutral spirit made from English wheat. Islay spring water, sourced from the nearby Octomore Farm, is used to reduce the spirit to 72 proof (36% ABV). After reduction, the spirit is then macerated overnight with the 9 classic gin botanicals found in a London Dry Gin: Angelica Root, Cassia, Bark, Cinnamon Bark, Coriander Seed, Juniper Berries, Lemon Peel, Licorice, Orange Peel, and Orris Root. Next, the gin basket containing the 22 Islay Botanicals are fitted into the gin head. The spirit is then trickle distilled in a Lomond Pot Still at low pressure for 12-17 hours, with the vapors slowly passing through the gin basket, picking up the complex, signature aromatics. More spring water is then added to the spirit before filtration, and the final product is bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV).

The Islay Botanicals

In addition to the 9 classic gin botanicals, The Botanist Gin also uses 22 Islay botanicals, which are grown naturally on the island, including a unique strain of Prostrate Juniper that grows in the exposed sea level habitats of the Rhinos of Islay. They’re all harvested by hand during each unique growing season, carefully managed, and replanted to maintain the source. The botanicals are then dried or tinctured naturally on Islay. Finally, they’re carefully placed in a cheesecloth bag for distillation. The Botanist is influenced exclusively by the botanicals, and there are no other added substances, including essences, oils, or flavoring.

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