One small step for gin, one giant leap for gin kind.
Recently, That Boutique-y Gin Company ‘launched’ their latest creation, Moonshot gin.
The concept is a gin made from botanicals that have been sent into space and even a touch of moon rock for authenticity. Launched last month, Batch 1 proved to be incredibly successful. So much so, that Batch 2 is landing in late May with 2,200 bottles at a pokey 46.6% ABV (RRP 32.95 for a 50cl bottle).
The ambitious project gets it’s name from “the act or procedure of launching a rocket or spacecraft to the moon.”
The botanicals were sent into near-space at altitudes of over 24km and are exposed to an air pressure of less than 1/100th of that at sea level. This is an incredibly low air pressure. After around 18km, where the pressure has dropped to just 1/16th of that at sea level, fluids in the human body will vaporise at body temperature. This is a phenomenon known as Armstrong’s limit.
The botanicals consist of Juniper, Coriander Camomile Flowers, Fresh Lemon Peel, Cardamom, Dried Bitter Orange Peel, Cinnamon, Cubeb Pepper, Liquorice Root, Angelica and Moon Rock from a lunar meteorite. This fruity and spicy mix is then vacuum distilled at room temperature for “freshness and elegance”, the vacumm still achieving pressure of nearer 1/10th of that at sea level.
There’s even a video of the launch available to watch here.
So how does it taste? I’ve never really known the characteristics of moon rock. I can however tell you that it tastes good. Those spices kick through nicely and there’s definitely something a little different in the taste. On the nose we get a sense of coriander and lemon drizzle cake with subtle pepper adding depth. On the palate we have juniper, oleo-saccharum citrus goodness and balancing spice with a finish of bitter lemon and tangerine.
It’s an interesting idea, one that reminds me of IOW distillery’s HMS Victory Gin, a gin that has been stored in casks made with staves of wood from the ship herself. This idea of flavouring could potentially come across as a simple gimmick, but I think that these things are interesting. Historians ove a bit of HMS Victory Gin and equally all the gin drinking scientists out there have something a bit special for their collection.
That Boutique-y Gin Company is the world’s first independent gin bottler, releasing small batch gins from some of the world’s best distilleries, brands and minds. They also feature their own creations such as their delicious Cherry Gin and now the Moonshot Gin. Their labels are illustrated by Grae J Ward and often include gindustry ‘in-jokes’ and well known faces.
The gin is now available for purchase at Master of Malt. Batch 1 is still available for those of you who love collecting interesting first batches. No worries for when it runs out though as Batch 2 is already up and ready to go.