Death’s Door Gin

Cellars: £50.50

NOSE: Aromas of cream, wheat, brown sugar, liquorice and delicate peppery spices.

PALATE: Supple, satiny entry to a dry-yet-fruity medium-to-full body with citrus and peach custard and herbal juniper notes.

FINISH: Finishes with a vibrant anise seed, citrus marmalade on sweet wheat cracker, and white pepper fade finish.

Serving Suggestion

On its own over ice or with a premium tonic water.

Country: USA

Region: Washington Island - Wisconsin

Producer: Death’s Door Distillery

Style: London Dry

Status: Small Batch

Allergens: Not known

Bottle size: 70cl

abv:  47.0%

Distillery Information

The gin’s name, “Death’s Door” was taken from the body of water between Door County peninsula and Washington Island from which the team get their organic hard red winter wheat. Potowatami and Winnebego tribesmen originally named the waterway, while the French called it Port de Morts (the port of the dead) when trading in the area to ward off other traders.

Death’s Door Gin has a surprisingly simple botanical mix of organic juniper berries, coriander and fennel. Using juniper berries that grow wild on Washington Island with coriander and fennel sourced from within the state, Death’s Door Spirits is able to showcase how complementary and complex simple expressions can be.

Washington Island was once known for its potato farming. Washington Island "spuds" made their way around the world for their quality and flavour. However, in the early 1970's, vertical integration in the potato industry left Washington Island without contracts to grow its crops. Without customers, island farmers stopped planting and instead switched to other jobs that were either more tourism-based or moved off the island to find a livelihood elsewhere.

Fast forward to 2005, a small group of like-minded people began exploring reinvigorating farming on Washington Island. Armed with enough seed to plant 5 acres and enough know-how to get it done — brothers Tom and Ken Koyen began growing wheat on the island. What started as wheat to use as flour at the Washington Island Hotel has grown into a select specialty grain for use in Capital Brewery's Island Wheat Ale and all of Death's Door Spirits products.

Since 2005, Death's Door Spirits and Capital Brewery have supported the farmers' efforts on Washington Island to expand the acreage of hard red winter wheat from five (5) to 1,200.

SUPPORTING LOCAL AGRICULTURE

The focus from the beginning was to support local and sustainable agriculture on Washington Island. Historically, Washington Island was known for its potato farming but since the 1970s most of these fields sat fallow. In 2005, agriculture once again returned to the island in the form of five acres of hard red winter wheat. Now nearly 1,000 acres of wheat are grown on the island.

In addition to the wheat, the barley utilized in the gin, vodka and whisky and is grown in Wisconsin in partnership with other farmers. The botanicals for the gin (juniper, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds) are sourced in the state when possible. In fact, the company has an annual juniper harvest festival on Washington Island whereby guests pick wild juniper berries.

Aviation Dry Gin

Cellars: £39.00

NOSE: Very clean and all on the juniper. Beautiful lavender flavours, and citrus, with sweet grains and earthiness.

PALATE: Creamy rich texture. Spicy and oily in feel, floral notes and the strongest juniper flavour you'll ever experience.

FINISH: Long and extremely clean. Lasts for hours!

Serving Suggestion

With a premium tonic water served over ice

Country: North America

Region: Portland

Producer: House Spirits Distillery

Style: Small Batch

Allergens: Not known

Bottle size: 70cl

abv:  42.0%

Distillery Information

How two innovators, Prohibition, and juniper, lead to the first American craft gin.

At a party in Seattle in 2005, bartender Ryan Magarian was introduced to "summer gin" by a friend from Portland. Struck by the subtlety of gin with less juniper, he recognized it as a movement away from traditional gin. Ryan had a growing interest in classic, pre-Prohibition cocktails, where the spirit is central and never masked, and this gin had the potential to be the perfect complement.

He set off for Portland to meet the distiller.

Equally passionate about his craft, Christian Krogstad founded a craft distillery in Portland, Oregon. With a pioneering spirit, Christian had set out to recreate a uniquely American Gin. But American gins disappeared with Prohibition, so no one knew exactly what they tasted like.

Without a precise flight plan, the first bartender/distiller partnership took off. Through repeated trial and experimentation with 7 botanicals, Ryan and Christian finally landed on a democratic blend with juniper in the background. Like all successful partnerships, none is overpowering or masking, but each plays a part in bringing out the best in all. Aviation, a gin created to be so balanced and smooth, it can complement any cocktail or even fly solo.

PRODUCTION

Every bottle of Aviation Gin is handcrafted in small 100-case batches by a small, dedicated team of master distillers in Portland, Oregon.

Like the world's finest gins, Aviation is distilled using a proprietary maceration process that produces a pure medley of botanical flavours

It all starts with the precise blend of botanicals, sourced from around the world cardamom, coriander, French lavender, anise seed, sarsaparilla, juniper, and two kinds of orange peel. The botanicals are placed in nylon sacks and suspended in a pure, neutral grain spirit for 18 hours in macerating tanks.

DISTILLATION

The macerate is then pumped into a stainless steel still along with pure water. Steam jackets heat the macerate, the vapors go into a shotgun condenser, come into contact with the cold water, and the distillate forms.

THE CUT

In a meticulously monitored process, the first fluid leaving the still, the "heads," is removed. Collecting the "heart of the spirit" throughout the run, the distillers then determine the end of the cycle and make the final cut, "the tails." This process takes approximately 7 hours and at this point, the "heart cut" is 142 proof.

BLENDING & BOTTLING

The "heart cut" is transferred to a blending tank where pure water is added, bringing the gin to the desired 84 proof. It then goes into a bottling tank with a 6-sprout gravity filler and pumped into bottles.

Labels, caps, and cap strips are all applied by hand. A craft production from beginning to end,

Aviation is then ready to pack and ship.