G’VineNouaisonGin(700mL)

<p><em>If you ask a Frenchman what he knows about making great Gin he will answer, “C’est simple … treat it like Cognac, missure.” </em></p><p>The <em>G’vine distillery </em>has redefined Gin. Instead of using a grain spirit, like most Gin distillers, they use a grape sprit, <em>infused </em>with the rare vine flower’s berry, which blossoms only for a few days in the summery days of June. The delicate grape berries are immediately hand-picked and<em> macerated in the neutral </em>grape spirit over a period of several days to obtain the best floral essence. The infusion is then distilled in a small Florentine pot still. This Gin is produced in the <em>region of Cognac</em>, where they certainly know their grapes. <em>G’Vine Nouaison Gin</em> … first, get over the fact that it is made from <em>distilled grape spirits</em>. It’s a good thing. France is almost synonymous with grapes culture, from wine to champaign to cognac. It should not be surprising that they have a little extra fruit-of-the-vine available for other purposes. And it makes sense. In fact, back in the 13th century the very first juniper liquors—<em>of which Gin is the most notable one</em>—were steeped in grape alcohols. </p><p>If you distill wine once and age it, you get brandy or cognac. If you distill it several times and add a wonderfully unique set of botanicals, you get <em>G’Vine Nouaison Gin</em>. And you will like the silky texture and smooth character mouth-feel that using grape instead of grain alcohols brings to this Gin. </p><p>Far from hiding their love of all things grape, the “bon gens” at G’Vine embrace their grape-i-ness and run with it—adding <em>rare</em> and <em>fugitive grape flower</em> <em>extract </em>to their list of botanical infusions. The roster of ingredients goes on to include much of what you expect—<em>juniper berries, licorice, coriander, green cardamom, and a bit of lime</em>—and some more unique ones too, including cubeb berries and nutmeg. It is a departure from your traditional Gin … and that’s a good thing. </p>