Gin, 'Listening Rock'

• Small batch dry gin produced by Tenmile Distillery in Wassaic, New York
• Botanicals include organic Meyer lemons from Santa Barbara, California; orange peel, juniper, orris root, star anise, and angelica root from the San Francisco Herb Company; mint and lemon balm from the Tenmile garden
• Base spirit composed of 100% New York-grown wheat (80%) and malted barley (20%) sourced from Hudson Valley Malt in Germantown, New York
• Base spirit fermented for 7 days in a temperature-controlled closed-top stainless steel fermenter then distilled in a combination of Forsyths copper pot stills and a Forsyths 14-plate modified copper column still topped with a condenser
• Dried botanicals are macerated in base spirit for 24–36 hours; seasonally available botanicals (Meyer lemon, mint, and lemon balm) are macerated separately before being combined fractionally with the bulk maceration
• Final distillation takes place in an 80-gallon Forsyths copper gin still
• Water for production comes from a well on the Tenmile property; this water is modified by reverse osmosis to proof down the spirit prior to bottling
• The nose offers a lively punch of fresh citrus and garden mint structured with juniper and followed by a gentle waft of fresh malt. On the palate, the citrus provides a through line for a lively sweet-savory interaction between mint and juniper, and the herbal quality of the Meyer lemon prolongs that sensation on the finish.
• NY Farm Distillery License eligible
• Non-chill filtered; 46% ABV

If one were to marry the botanical composition of international-style UK garden gins (you know who you are) with the robust maltiness of genever, you’d come close to the sheer range of sensations invoked by this humbly described “dry gin.” Juniper becomes more of a supporting player than the star in a spirit that’s bursting with fresh mint and savory Meyer lemon citrus. A yummy sipper on ice that’s unexpectedly unassuming in a broad category of classic cocktails, Listening Rock Gin plays well in an amped-up Corpse Reviver #2 or an opulent Last Word.