Barr Hill Gin 750ml

Barr Hill Gin comes from Caledonia Spirits, a distillery founded in 2011 by Todd Hardie, a lifelong Vermont beekeeper, who set out to bring raw honey into the distilling process. Hardie partnered with local brewer Ryan Christiansen to run the stills, and the two built a gin around honey rather than the long lists of imported botanicals typical of the category. Christiansen later bought the company in 2015 and has continued to lead it, now operating out of a purpose built distillery on Gin Lane in Montpelier after outgrowing the original site in Hardwick.

The gin starts as a juniper-forward spirit distilled in a custom botanical extraction still, using relatively few ingredients compared to most London Dry styles. After distillation, raw honey sourced from beekeepers within 250 miles of the distillery is blended in unheated, which preserves the honey's natural aromatics and adds the floral complexity of whatever wildflowers and blossoms the local bees foraged that season. This honey addition places Barr Hill in the historic Old Tom category, though the finished spirit is far from sweet.

The nose is resinous and piney, with juniper and pine needle giving way to a soft, honeyed floral note underneath. On the palate it is dry and herbal at first, then rounds out with wildflower sweetness and a smooth, lightly waxy texture through the finish. It makes an excellent White Negroni and holds up well in a simple gin and soda with fresh herbs.