McClintock Forager Gin 750ml

McClintock Forager Gin comes from McClintock Distilling Company, an organic spirits producer that opened its doors in downtown Frederick, Maryland, in 2016, launching Forager as one of its first releases. The distillery has built a reputation for pushing past conventional gin styles, working exclusively with organically certified, non-GMO botanicals and avoiding concentrates or extracts in favor of whole ingredients. Forager reflects that approach directly, drawing its inspiration from the wild plants and herbs found throughout the Appalachian wilderness surrounding the distillery.

The gin starts from a base of neutral cane spirit and is built around a collection of twenty-one botanicals, extracted through vapor infusion rather than steeping, a method meant to capture essential oils more delicately and preserve brighter, more distinct flavors. Alongside juniper, the recipe leans on regional and unusual ingredients such as crane's-bill root, chicory root, rose hips, cardamom, hibiscus, anise seed, meadowsweet blossom, candied angelica, and fennel, bottled at 45 percent alcohol by volume.

The nose is aromatic with juniper up front, giving way to a palate that opens with citrus, hibiscus, and anise. A creamy mid-palate follows, touched with vanilla from the meadowsweet blossoms, before earthy licorice and fennel notes carry through to a long, slightly unctuous finish. Juniper remains present throughout, though it stays in the background rather than dominating the profile.