Ferdinand's Saar Dry Gin

Ferdinand's is what happens when one of Germany's greatest Riesling estates makes a gin. The name honors Ferdinand Geltz, the Royal Prussian district forester who co-founded the VDP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer growers' association in the 19th century, and the gin is a partnership between master distiller Andreas Vallendar of Avadis Distillery in Wincheringen and Dorothee Zilliken of the Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken estate in Saarburg, where the family has made wine for over 270 years. It's grain-to-bottle: Avadis distills its own base spirit from its own harvested grain, then macerates 30 hand-picked, mostly local botanicals — juniper, sloe, rosehip, angelica, hop blossom, rose, quince, lavender from fallow vineyards in the Konzer Tälchen, garden-grown lemon thyme, almond shell, coriander, and ginger, laid out on the label as a periodic table of elements — and runs them through both the pot still and a vapor infusion chamber in a single distillation. Then comes the signature move: a precise measure of semi-sweet Riesling from the Zillikens' Saarburger Rausch vineyard, grown on steep slate slopes, is blended in after distillation. Rested four weeks, bottled at 44% ABV with a beeswax-sealed cork. Difford's Guide found piney juniper, pungent lavender, lemongrass, and lemon meringue on the nose, then lemon curd, pear drops, cream soda, and dry juniper balanced by cracked pepper, ginger, and cinnamon. The Riesling brings an oily, rich texture and a grape-like tang. Not a London Dry — floral, vinous, intensely herbal — and a striking Martini with Noilly Prat.

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