gin botanicals

 botanicals are very popular in gin, i looked into popular botanicals to get an idea of what to include in my collage

JUNIPER

Juniper is to gin what hops are to IPAs: It’s not gin without it. The word gin is derived from juniper, whether the French genièvre or the Dutch jenever. Juniper is grown around the world and has dozens of different varieties. In ancient times, juniper was used as a spice and for medicinal purposes. Taste-wise, it’s dominantly pine-flavored and is responsible for the Christmas tree notes most commonly associated with gin.

CORIANDER

Coriander is the dried seed of the cilantro plant and originally hails from southern Europe, north Africa, and southwest Asia. It has a complex taste that’s a little spicy and citrusy, and nutty when crushed. It’s an easy complement to the flavors of juniper.

ANGELICA

Gins commonly use the root of the angelica plant, but some use the flower and seeds as well. It tastes earthy and medicinal. It’s also found in Fernet and Chartreuse.

LEMON

Lemon is used throughout the culinary world to brighten food and drink. Gin cocktails often have a lemon twist as well, accentuating the citrus flavors. In gin, lemon notes come across primarily as zesty and sweet lemon peel.

ORANGE

As with lemon, orange peels are the most common part of the fruit used in gin production — and dried orange peel in particular. Depending on the type of orange used, the oils in the skin can provide bitter citrus or sweet and gentle notes.

ORRIS ROOT

Orris root comes from the iris flower and looks similar to ginger. It has a floral and sweet aroma that’s common in perfume as well as gin. It also adds an earthy and woody flavor.

CARDAMOM

Cardamom is a spice that’s difficult to describe other than it smells and tastes like cardamom. It’s common in food from southern India and is related to ginger. Cardamom pods added to food and gin are bright green, have a somewhat numbing and medicinal taste, and are highly aromatic with a powerful flavor.

LICORICE

Licorice root is originally from southern Europe and India and is sugary sweet that’s similar to anise. The flavor in licorice used by gin producers is far from the candy taste and can give gin a more viscous texture.

CASSIA BARK

The cassia tree is a relative of cinnamon and is originally from southern China. The bark is harvested and dried and strongly resembles the spicy hot bite of cinnamon and cinnamon-flavored products. Cassia is, however, just a little sweeter than cinnamon with a licorice-like flavor.

CINNAMON

Cinnamon plays a complementary role to the sweeter notes in gin by adding a fiery spicy tone.