FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 18 OF 80
GENTILLY GIN, New Orleans, USA
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
Today's stop on the Atlas takes me to the vibrant streets of New Orleans.
Seven Three Distilling Co. is located in the heart of New Orleans, on the edge of the French Quarter, and has been producing small-batch spirits since 2016.
Its name comes from the 73 official neighbourhoods that make up the city, with husband-and-wife founders Sal and Eileen Bivona using each spirit to tell a different story of New Orleans.
Today's story is Gentilly Gin. Gentilly is a historic district made up of several neighbourhoods, making it a rather fitting name for a gin where a blend of botanicals comes together to create something unique.
The gin draws its inspiration from the traiteurs of French Louisiana—traditional Cajun and Creole faith healers who combined prayer with herbal remedies and passed their knowledge from one generation to the next, usually to someone of the opposite gender.
Their practices have existed alongside conventional medicine for generations and reflect the rich cultural influences that have shaped Louisiana's history.
The botanical recipe remains a closely guarded secret, but Seven Three reveals that it includes persimmon and elderflower. Elder has long been valued in traditional herbal medicine and was often known as the "King of the Garden", making it a fitting botanical for a gin inspired by old healing traditions.
Whether you believe in faith healing or not, many of the plants used in traditional remedies have found their way into gin recipes across the world. Juniper, angelica, coriander, liquorice and countless others have all been valued for their medicinal properties at one time or another. Perhaps there really is a reason gin was once sold in apothecaries... although I may be stretching that fact just a little! As always, do drink responsibly.
If you've never tried Gentilly Gin, you're in for a real treat. It opens with sweet spice before mellowing beautifully across the palate, finishing with those slightly bitter, resinous juniper notes that leave you in no doubt this is still very much a gin for gin lovers.
“Inspired by Louisiana folklore, distilled in the heart of New Orleans.”
Today's stop was also the perfect excuse to make one of
New Orleans' most famous cocktails—the
Ramos Gin Fizz. Created by Henry C. Ramos in 1888, it became legendary for requiring so much shaking that bars employed teams of "shaker boys" to take turns until the drink reached its famously silky texture. Thankfully, I only had to shake one!
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."