Citadelle Gin
Just as Sipsmith opened the door for British artisanal distillers so Citadelle Gin was a pioneer for their French equivalents. Alexandre Gabriel, having taken over the distinguished Cognac producing house Maison Ferrand, wanted to revive age old gin production techniques to produce a special gin. However, he found that he was stymied by legal constraints which prevented him from distilling gin in his Cognac pots during the French AOC enforced periods of inactivity for Cognac production between April and October.
After five years of frustrating battles with officialdom Alexandre finally won through and France’s first artisanal gin was born. Distilled at the Château de Bonbonnet, in Cognac, the name of Citadelle is steeped in gin history. Gins bearing that illustrious name were original produced in the Citadelle of Dunkirk, commissioned as the royal distillery by Louis XVI in 1775. It was was smuggled into England from France, supposedly by Royal order, in wooden casks, starting the trend for barrel-aged gin.
Gabriele began planting the first juniper trees at the Château in 2017 with plans to extend the plantation over five hectares. The plans are to work exclusively with local producers to ensure that all the botanicals used in the distillation process are sourced as close to, if not directly at, the château. And there are a lot of botanicals.
As well as Juniper, eighteen other botanicals go into the mix: Iris, Almond, Fennel, Star Anise, Lemon zest, Orange zest, Cardamom, Violet, Grains of paradise, Coriander, Cubeb pepper, Liquorice, Savory, Nutmeg, Angelica, Cumin, Cinnamon, and Sichuan pepper. The distillation process takes place in a copper pot still with each botanical infused just long enough to bring out their personality.
The labelling on the bottle helpfully provides a list of all the botanicals, something that all distillers should do, in my opinion. And the bottle is a piece of work in its own right, a marvellous statement of French elegance, using shimmering blue glass with fortified ridges to good effect. The labelling is, well, French in style, busy, informative, using copper plate handwriting to give a sense of age and history. The bottle is circular with narrow shoulders and a short neck, leading to the only surprise of the package, a greyish screwcap.
On the nose there is a wonderful hit of juniper with earthy notes and a slightly floral, herbal presence making its presence felt. In the glass the clear spirit is a wonderful mix of juniper and citrus with an overlayer of herbal elements and some spicy hints to give contrast. Surprisingly, the aftertaste is not overlong, but provides a tangy finish to the drink, which has an ABV of 44%.
I would be wrong if I said that my palate could distinguish each of the nineteen elements that go into the drink but together they make an impressively complex tipple. A definite hit.
Until the next time, cheers!
