Monkey 47

£36.45

47 ingredients have found their way into the Monkey 47 recipe. Including angelica root, acacia flowers, bramble leaves, lingon berries and spruce shoots all come from the Black Forest. They take juniper berries from the Mediterranean which are known to be more aromatic as they receive four to six weeks more sun than their Tuscan and German cousins.

Monkey 47 Gin -

The distilled spirit is rested three months in earthenware containers and then cut with soft water from the Black Forest, where it reacts with oxygen and develops a greater overall harmony and balance. Bottled in 500ml, unfiltered in individual batches and a final ABV of 47%, there is a lot going on both on the nose and to taste - all of which mouthwateringly delicious.

It's particularly well made and balanced - as such, hard to differentiate between one botanical and the next. Some botanicals ping in an out depending on if you add water, enjoy it with tonic or in a cocktail. Neat - citrus upfront leads to spice, fruit and herb flavours with juniper underpinning lingonberries beautifully in the heart. It is impeccably smooth too.

Monkey 47 Distiller's Cut 2015 -

Master Distiller Christoph Keller has once again embarked on a special distillatory mission. The quest for this year's species rara, or that one special ingredient for the Monkey 47 Distiller's Cut 2015, led them this year to the Black Forest. In the mountainous area around Wolfach, known as the “Moosenmättle”, grows an unparalleled abundance of spignel, a now extremely rare plant that has little in common with masterwort, which is used to make the reputed traditional root spirits in Germany.

When the foliage is cut or crushed, spignel emits a fine, somewhat sweet scent that is similar to fennel, dill, lovage or even gin. This year, in a complex and extensive production process, the usual 47 “traditional” ingredients of Monkey 47 was enhanced to include spignel seeds, distilled again, matured for three months in earthenware containers, before finally being combined with soft spring water from the Black Forest.

Distiller’s Cut 2015 is a refreshing, tangy gin with delicate vegetable top notes, spicy heart notes, and a unique complexity and density.

Read Gin Foundry's full review here: Monkey 47 Gin