Snowdrop Gin

The snowdrop is the first flower to bloom as the Vermont snow melts, and Saxtons River Distillery named its gin for it — "an expression of new life springing from the mountains and valleys of Vermont." Founder Christian Stromberg spent more than eight years tinkering with gin, starting in a barn in Cambridgeport, before the first hand-numbered batch launched in 2016 from the Brattleboro distillery. The technique is what makes it: vacuum distillation, on a homebuilt still Stromberg nicknamed "Gin X-1" that looks more like a small spaceship than a 1,000-gallon pot. Lowering the pressure lowers the boiling point, which preserves delicate volatile oils that traditional heat would burn off — and with eighteen botanicals in the recipe, that matters. Juniper, coriander, thyme, and rosemary lead, joined by star anise, fennel, caraway, cardamom, allspice, grains of paradise, ginger, orange peel, orris root, sarsaparilla root, cocoa, and Damiana leaf, a shrub from Mexico and Central America with a reputation as an aphrodisiac. Bottled at 44.5% ABV. Wine Enthusiast's blind panel scored it 93, finding subtly sweet citrus and coriander on a soft, flavorful palate with cardamom and anise on a brisk, clean finish — a London Dry structure with cocoa and sarsaparilla adding nuance. The Gin Is In found it herb-forward with camphor, menthol, and thyme, hints of cola, and ginger heat closing it out. Assertively herbal, distinctly Vermont — a Negroni gin, or a Martini with a rosemary sprig.

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