BOTANICALS
Only the best
- Juniper from the Piedmont
- Moroccan coriander
- Java Cubeb
- Jamaican allspice
- Cloves from Madagascar
- Indian calamus
- Oranges from Valencia
- Lemons from the Amalfi Coast
- Portuguese cistus
- Sloes and spruce shoots from the Harz Mountains
A total of twenty herbs, spices and berries find their way into our gin, providing a smooth, highly aromatic and lasting texture and a fresh yet spicy flavor profile.
JUNIPERUS
For the taste
Our main players are the ripe, berry-shaped cones of the common juniper. We use fresh, hand-picked Italian juniper berries of the variety "Italian Giants". The quality of the fruit is to die for.
The Italians cost considerably more than their Eastern European competitors, but the finely spiced taste lifts our end product into other spheres.
CORIANDER
For harmony
The seeds of coriander are our taste provocateurs, they help other herbs and spices, besides themselves, to shine in the overall profile.
In the case of coriander, a difference in quality is rather subtle but sensorially obvious to perceive and taste, is clearly found in the odeur, the bouquet experience in the finished gin. Our coriander comes from Morocco, is the best and surpasses the usually offered from Asia or Eastern Europe in aroma and intensity.
SLOES
For the fruitiness
Blackthorn, natural berries from the Harz. A little plum, a little cherry with a hint of bitter almond, really a great fruit.
We pick them ourselves and we also use them for our legendary Sloe Gin.
CUBEB
For a more flavor
Cubeb pepper is a highly aromatic fruit that is, as a medicinal plant, also perfectly suitable for gin. We use cubeb from Java, which contains up to 18% essential oil and, very carefully dosed, gives the Hartigowe the desired depth. Our cubeb pepper pleasantly smells spicy like lime, camphor and eucalyptus.
CITRUS
For the freshness
Oranges from Valencia,
Lemons from the Amalfi Coast - the zest is where the punch is.
The sun-kissed fruits are of course untreated and in organic quality. We import directly from the organic farmers and thereby support the CrowdFarming initiative.
SPRUCE SHOOTS
For persistence
At the beginning of May, spruce sprouts with new shoots. Compared to the older needles, the fresh shoots are light to yellow-green in color. The young buds are soft, sourish, fresh and slightly woody in taste. In addition, for a short time they spread an extremely pleasant, citrus fragrance. The time for harvesting must be precisely timed, otherwise the valuable ingredients are lost. If we wait too long, the undesirable strong spruce aromas will dominate. If we harvest too early, the fragrances and flavors are not yet distincive.
We collect our buds in the morning, immediately after which they are processed dewy-fresh. Even half a day of storage spoils the wonderful flavors. Fortunately, the valuable ingredients can be preserved well in neutral spirit. The essential oils contained in the young sprouts are dissolved in their entire range during maceration and assimilated into the alcohol. Thus, even later in the year, we can refine our gin with this charming ingredient.
CISTUS
For more depth
Cistus like a rough, changeable sea climate with plenty of sun to be able to form their balsamic resin, the labdanum. They therefore thrive particularly well in the western Mediterranean region, where they develop into extraordinarily aromatic plants.
The Cistus incanus has an intense herbal aroma with a mildly tart note and a floral flavor. The bitter tones fortunately do not drift over during the distillation process, we extract only the beguiling fragrance and wonderful taste.
