The Botanist

The Botanist

STYLE: GIN
REGION: SCOTLAND (ISLAY)
ABV: 46%

This is the love child of the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay, and ‘Ugly Betty’, an old Lomond still they rescued from the now defunct Inverleven distillery (and in itself is an historical relic, being the last functioning example of a cross between a Coffey still and a pot still.) So named for its crude, graceless shape (sexist much Bruichladdich?), Ugly Betty has found new life making an elegant, almost ethereal spirit, very much in the style of a London dry gin with its floral and herbal notes, layers of aromatics and gorgeous complexity boosted by a generous 46% abv. Perfect in a dry martini, but equally inspired in a gin Auld-Fashioned with Earl Grey syrup, rose water and orange bitters.