Gray Whale Gin

Gray Whale began on a camping trip in Big Sur, when Marsh and Jan Mokhtari looked out over the turquoise Pacific and spotted a gray whale on its migration. The gin they built at Golden State Distillery in Sebastopol tells the story of that 12,000-mile journey along the California coast with six botanicals, each from a stop on the route: juniper wild-harvested in Big Sur, limes hand-zested from Temecula and Baja, fir tree needles from Sonoma, kombu sea kelp from the Mendocino coast, mint from Santa Cruz, and almonds from the Capay Valley. The fir and lime are vapor-infused in a bag tied inside the copper pot still's helmet; the rest are distilled directly in a six-times-distilled, gluten-free corn spirit, bottled at 43% ABV in the electric-blue bottle The Gin Is In calls the best-recognized since Hendrick's. One percent of profits go to ocean conservation through Oceana. Wine Enthusiast scored it 93 points, finding anise leading a mild aroma and a slick, slightly viscous palate with a lemony, faintly saline note winding into a brisk, cooling finish like an ocean breeze; it also took Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Paste found it fairly classical on the nose — fresh juniper and pine from the fir, grapefruit zest, wildflowers, and sea air — a touch sweeter than London Dry without being saccharine. K&L: a triple threat in a Martini, G&T, or Negroni. Honest note: The Daily Pour found it a bull in a china shop in cocktails. California's coast, in a glass.

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