The Cocktail Shop here in Barcelona holds events and masterclasses throughout the year on various spirits and mixed drinks. I like keeping an eye out for special gin events, as it’s always a pleasure to meet brand ambassadors who offer extra insights into the products they represent – especially if they’re visiting a location nearby!
Fernando Sanabria talking about the Island of Islay (pronounced “eye-lah”).
Last week I was very lucky to sign up for the Bruichladdich masterclass, hosted by their brand ambassador, Fernando Sanabria. The event was more focussed on the brand’s whiskies, but it was still a brilliant opportunity to learn a little bit more about the distillery and their gin called The Botanist.
This is the first and only gin that comes from the Scottish island of Islay. The distillery was founded in 1881 and, to this day, no computers are used in their production. Everything is controlled and measured by skilled distillers with dipsticks and flotation devices, making the gin process a completely artisanal one!
They use 31 botanicals to make up this incredibly smooth gin (9 are part of the classic aromatics and the other 22 are harvested local botanicals) and it is distilled at a very low-
pressure level. There were different opinions about the flavour during tasting, but I found it quite citrusy and herbal. I’ll wager that if paired with the right tonic, it can make a smooth tasting G&T.
The first and only Islay Dry Gin.
One of the things that really surprised me, however, was the fact that I enjoyed the whisky tasting portion of the class. Maybe it was because I didn’t have breakfast that morning (yup, you can imagine how I left the place after that!), but people who know me will attest I’ve never been a big whisky fan. I didn’t care for it much when I was living in Scotland and still didn’t until the day of the event. My real interest lies in gin, especially when combined with a good tonic water, but I must confess this has all changed after this masterclass! I can honestly say I don’t think I ever tasted such fine Scottish whiskies as the ones produced by Bruichladdich! There was a rich array of flavours and smells to be sampled that I found utterly astonishing.
So yes, I’m beginning to appreciate, for the first time ever, a glass (or two, or three…) of Scottish whisky! And it makes me wonder if I’ve been missing out all these years. Is there actually more to whisky than meets the eye? I suspect so, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be saying goodbye to my beloved G&Ts. I’ve decided to get myself a bottle of The Botanist sometime in the near future and give it a whirl with some tonics to see which goes best. Once I have some thoughts on the gin, I’ll share them here. In the meantime, if you’ve not tried The Botanist yet, I highly recommend you do so. You won’t regret it!
Find out more about the products mentioned in this post below.
The Botanist
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