Leopold's Gin comes to California

Gin, gin and more gin.

Another gin has come to market in San Francisco and it confirms even further American Gin as a new category of botanical goodness. Leopold Bros. out of Ann Arbor, Michigan are doing some great stuff with their gin, peach, blackberry and cranberry liqueurs, Silver Tree vodka (yeah, I don't really care either,) and fruit infused whiskies.

They have taken the same approach as the Austrian Blue Gin I posted on last month and distilled all the botanicals separately and then blended them. This fractional distillation technique allows the distiller a high level of control over the more delicate elements in their product which is perfect for the light citrusy American style gin. While there is definitely juniper present, it is more of a base binding agent to all the citrus oils than the main thrust of the spirit like the London Dry style. Upon tasting, my first thought was Yuzu peel, which I now understand to be a mix of orange and pomelo.

My hope is that this new American Gin category (Leopold's, Blue Coat, North Shore, Death's Door, etc.) along with the new lighter style imports (Right and Bulldog) will help to bridge the Vodka and Gin markets the way the good Lord intended.