GIN Tasting! Not just for summer.

Caorunn, Scotland – $34.99

Small batch, quadruple-distilled Scottish Gin personally crafted by one man – our Gin Master, Simon Buley. Using only the finest pure grain spirit, natural Scottish Water and 11 botanical gin ingredients, he personally crafts each and every bottle of Caorunn.

Caorunn is found in the Scottish Highlands. Balmenach Distillery’s rugged location in the heart of the Cairngorm National Park furnishes Caorunn with the world’s finest ingredients for crafting artisan gin. Crystal clear Scottish water is married with locally foraged botanicals to create a gin of supreme quality and heritage. Savoured around the world, Caorunn offers the drinks connoisseur the opportunity to embrace a wildly sophisticated gin of unrivalled quality.

The history of Balmenach Distillery is as old as it is acclaimed. One of the first distilleries in Scotland to be licensed in the production of Scotch whisky in 1824, Belmenach has been a byword for excellence for nearly three centuries.

Michael Godard Gin, Netherlands – $14.99

So what’s up with name and the bottle? Michael Godard is one of the world’s best-selling artists. Like his spirits, his art is bright and brilliant revolving around ingredients commonly used for adult beverages. His gin is made in true artisan fashion. Fresh botanicals are individually prepared in small, water heated, copper pots before being added to the distillate. They are hand crafted in small batches using undersized 850 liters copper stills. As you can see from the label, citrus fruits are the primary botanicals alongside the juniper.

This is a great price! When the brand was launched the retail price was $30+. For whatever reason above my pay grade, the Colorado wholesaler decided to no longer sell this brand so they came to Cooper with an offer.

Peach Street Jack & Jenny Pear Gin, Colorado – $39.98

“Late one night in 2009, Davy Lindig, a distiller at Peach Street Distillers in Palisade, was feverishly working on several batches of gin. In his haste, Lindig made what could have been a $70,000 mistake. The distillery’s Jack and Jenny Pear Eau De Vie and Jackelope Gin were in their distinct tanks waiting to be bottled, and Lindig, seeing the identical clear spirits, assumed they were the same and combined the two. Only afterward did he realize his blunder. Lindig called Rory Donovan, one of Peach Street’s founders, in the middle of the night. Donovan asked if Lindig had tasted the commingled spirits. He hadn’t—but when he did, he was pleasantly surprised, as was Donovan. And with that, the libation was christened Jackelope and Jenny Pear Gin (it was, after all, a marriage of sorts).

Taste: The combo balances the pear’s earthy sweetness with the tangy, citrusy notes of the gin, and today, Peach Street sells about 4,000 bottles each year.” 5280 Magazine

Ransom Old Tom Gin, Oregon – $39.99

Ransom Distiller’s began as a labor of love. It was started by Tad Seestedt in 1997 with a small life savings and a fistful of credit cards. The name was chosen to represent the debt incurred to start the business – Tad was paying his own ransom to realize his dream. Initially, the distillery made small amounts of grappa, eau de vie and brandy. Ransom began the production of a number of small-batch fine wines in 1999. In 2007, it took up the craft of grain-based spirits, adding gin, whiskey and vodka to the lineup. In 2010, they combined their craft for winemaking and distilling to create our first Dry Vermouth. The “Old Tom” comes from a recipe developed in collaboration with spirits historian David Wondrich. It’s aged for three to six months in wine barrels.

It’s also been very well received at competitions, as the Ransom Old Tom Gin has won gold medals at the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the 2013 San Diego Spirits Festival.

Taste: Ransom Old Tom Gin opens with seductive aromatics of juniper berries and coastal forest, set off by apothecary spice notes of cardamom and angelica. The palate is rich and silky, with malt flavors punctuated by lively citrus zest and heady exotic notes of coriander and teak. The gin continues with suppleness and power, with the warmth and richness of the malt carrying clean, focused botanicals on a long, elegant finish.