Spring has finally arrived and there’s no better way to ring in the warmer months than with a seasonal spirit in hand.
Shed your layers and rejoice: spring is here! The grass is green, there are new baby animals to coo over, and surely the heating bill is about to reduce (adulting truly sucks). So, why not put off the spring cleaning for another day and indulge in a tipple, or two. Whether you’ve got a penchant for Prosecco, a love of liqueurs, a soft spot for Scotch or a taste for Tequila, this is a time of year when the refreshing and rewarding really come into their own.
Here at MoM Towers, we love a bit of flower power when spring arrives. That why we’ve chosen to celebrate the coming of spring with a host of gins featuring fantastically floral botanicals, like rose petals, violets, lavender, lotus blossom and more. Enjoy!
Kyrö Napue Gin
This particular gin has two very exciting properties. 1) It was distilled using rye grain. 2) It features meadow sweet among its botanical selection. Alongside the aforementioned meadow sweet, Napue Gin was also crafted at the Kyrö Distillery in Isokyrö using citrus, cumin and juniper. Plus, it was named as the inaugural winner of the IWSC Gin & Tonic Trophy in 2015!
What does it taste like?:
Creamy vanilla, angelica, juniper, pink peppercorn, orange blossom, a herbal twinge of coriander root and cardamom seed, as well as plenty of floral and perfumed qualities.
Spring-tastic serve: Gin and Tonic
Classic, easy and, in this case, award-winning – it’s the Kyrö Napue G&T! To create, simply add 40ml of Kyrö Napue Gin to a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Top with 100ml of tonic water, stir well, garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a few cranberries. Serve while reminding any guests that this is an award-winning cocktail, thank you very much.
Alkkemist Gin
A wonderfully-presented gin that shines in a number of cocktails, Alkkemist Gin features among its 21 botanicals one of the classics of the floral genre: rose petal. Used to add depth and delicate sweetness, it was distilled (apparently under the light of the moon, no less) among other ingredients such as Muscat grape, orange and lemon peel, samphire, fennel, thyme and mint.
What does it taste like?:
Lemon peel, lavender, apple blossom, grape sweetness, fennel, clove, peppery juniper and a floral waft of rose.
Spring-tastic serve: Tom Collins
Add some Spanish style to this classic gin cocktail by stirring 50ml of Alkkemist Gin, 25ml of lemon juice and 15ml of simple syrup in a highball glass. Then fill the glass with ice cubes and top up with soda water. Garnish with a slice of lemon and serve while howling at the moon like the big badass wolf you are.
Harahorn Norwegian Gin
Sunndal wild marjoram is the star floral botanical is this interesting Norwegian gin. Mind you, you’d be forgiven for not noticing that thanks to the very distinctive label. While Harahorn is named after a mountain in Norway, the gin was actually inspired by the story of a hare with horns. Is it rad? Yes. Is it quite scary? Certainly. Does the gin taste delicious thanks to a botanical selection of Røros juniper berries, Nordmarka blueberries, Grimstad rhubarb, bladderwrack, Oppdal angelica and the highlighted Sunndal wild marjoram? Obviously.
What does it taste like?:
Juniper and blueberry always go together handsomely. The subtle tartness of rhubarb plays well with the pairing too.
Spring-tastic serve: Nordic Martini
See in spring with some Scandinavian style in this wonderful Martini. To create, combine 60ml of Harahorn Norwegian, 1 tbsp of Noilly Prat Original Dry and a little ice together in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with candied rhubarb and serve while impressing your guests by correctly pronouncing all those botanicals!
Dorothy Parker American Gin
We’re always happy to celebrate Dorothy Parker, whether that’s the legendary writer, poet and satirist, or this delicious gin from the New York Distilling Company! A fine example of some of the great gins we’re seeing come out of America, this tipple was crafted with a mix of traditional botanicals, juniper, citrus, cinnamon, and more contemporary examples such as elderberries and the floral highlight here, hibiscus petals.
What does it taste like?:
Sweet floral notes, muscular juniper, elderberry, citrus, cinnamon and hibiscus petals.
Spring-tastic serve: The Aviation
A classic gin sipper with a spring in its step and a beautiful purple-bluish hue. You can make this variant of the Aviation cocktail by adding 60ml of Dorothy Parker American Gin, 15ml of Maraschino liqueur, 7.5ml of Crème de violette and 20ml of fresh lemon juice into a shaker with ice. Simply shake this mix and then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry and serve while saluting the great Parker – “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.”
Forest Gin
What a success story Forest Gin has been for its creators, Lindsay and Karl Bond. Forest Gin is the only gin to have ever been awarded two separate Double-Gold Medals at the San Francisco World Spirit Awards, a feat it achieved in 2016. In this family-created small batch gin you’ll find classic botanicals, such as organic juniper berries and coriander seeds, as well as local ingredients foraged from Macclesfield Forest and processed with a pestle and mortar. This includes the gorse flowers, the floral fancy that means Forest Gin made our list, as well as wild bilberries, raspberries and local moss.
What does it taste like?:
Sweet berries, dewy, forest floor, moss, fresh spring water, rooty liquorice, cassia and cinnamon.
Spring-tastic serve: Negroni
Add a dose of forest funk to the Italian classic by combining 25ml of Forest Gin, 25ml of Campari and 25ml of Martini Rosso vermouth together in a cocktail shaker. Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a handful of raspberries and a cinnamon stick. Serve and marvel at that maverick weasel you’ll notice on the label of the distinctively English porcelain bottle.
Silent Pool Gin
The fragrant and delicately sweet lavender is the floral botanical you’ll find in the sublime Silent Pool Gin, which is produced on the Albury Estate in the Surrey Hills. This is right next to the Silent Pool, a beautiful, mysterious spring-fed lake that was the inspiration for a gin which features 23 other botanicals, including makrut lime, chamomile and local honey among others.
What does it taste like?:
Violet, lavender, lime leaf, elderflower, chamomile, orange blossom, vanilla-rich honey, cardamom, a spark of black pepper and juniper give it a spicy edge.
Spring-tastic serve: The French 75
The French 75 is an excellent celebratory cocktail, the perfect choice to toast the arrival of spring. To make, add 45ml of Silent Pool gin, 15ml of lemon juice and 7.5ml of sugar syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an empty glass, then top up with Champagne. Garnish with lemon peel and raise a glass to gin, springtime and, why not, gin again!
Sharish Blue Magic Gin
Sharish Blue Magic Gin is probably known best for its ability to transform in your glass from blue to pink with the addition of tonic. This is all down to the magic of the blue pea flower extracts which are used as a botanical. They not only provide that magnificent blue colour you can see in the bottle above, but also the colour changing properties that make this Portuguese gin so popular. Botanicals also include juniper, coriander, angelica root, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon peel, strawberry and raspberry.
What does it taste like?:
Raspberry, strawberry, stem ginger, leafy coriander, lemon and angelica and soft juniper.
Spring-tastic serve: Like Magic Gin and Tonic
Let’s face it, we all want to make the colour changing G&T. So, what you’ll need to do is take a large glass (a Copa de Balon glass is ideal) and fill it with ice cubes and a 50ml measure of Sharish Blue Magic Gin. Then slowly pour 150ml of tonic water down a bar spoon onto the ice. Garnish with a slice of fresh orange, then play Eiffel 65’s Blue (Da Ba Dee) and Prince’s Purple Rain, in that order.
Roku Gin
When it came time for Suntory to create its first gin, there was little surprise it opted to include some wonderfully Japanese botanicals. These include the fabulously floral sakura flower and cherry blossom, as well as sakura leaf, sencha tea, gyokuro tea, sansho pepper, yuzu peel and traditional gin botanicals such as juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, coriander and cinnamon, among others.
What does it taste like?:
Earthy and vegetal, with a light whisper of fruity sweetness hiding underneath. Peppery notes develop on the finish.
Spring-tastic serve: Roku & Soda
The highball is a Japanese institution, so making a gin-based equivalent seems particularly appropriate. To create, pour 30ml of Roku Gin into the highball glass and fill with ice to the brim. Then slowly and gently pour 150ml of soda water along the edge of the glass and stir. Garnish with sticks of fresh ginger and, if possible, sakura flower petals to keep the floral theme going.
Boë Violet Gin
Boë Gin is delicious enough as it, but the recipe has been revamped here with the fantastically floral addition of violets! Delicate, refreshing and beautiful to look at, Boë Violet Gin is a smashing tipple, Enjoy it with tonic or any number of mixers, or use it to bring colour and sweetness to a variety of cocktails.
What does it taste like?:
Hugely floral, with classic citrus-forward notes cutting through cleanly.
Spring-tastic serve: The Amethyst Aviation
Fabulous and floral, this beautiful cocktail celebrates its violet spirit. To create, add 40ml of Boë Violet Gin, 25ml of lemon juice and 10ml of Maraschino liqueur into a shaker with ice. Shake this mix and strain it into a cocktail glass, then top with premium grapefruit tonic or soda water. Garnish with a twist of fresh pink grapefruit, serve and enjoy – it’s spring and you’re drinking delicious gin for goodness sake!
