Gray Whale Dry Gin (75cl, 43%)

Gray Whale Dry Gin is an 86-proof California craft gin distilled at Golden State Distillery in Sebastopol from six botanicals foraged along the Pacific gray whale's migration route. The botanicals are Big Sur juniper, Santa Cruz mint, Temecula and Baja lime, Sonoma fir needles, Mendocino kombu sea kelp and Capay Valley almonds, on a six-times-distilled corn base. The distillery uses split distillation, with lime and fir vapor-infused and the rest macerated. One percent of profits funds ocean conservation. Nose: bright citrus and lemon, juniper, coastal fir, fresh mint, warming almond nuttiness. Palate: pine-forward juniper, lime skin, citrus pith, mint; kombu adds a subtle mineral salinity; gentle sweetness builds texture. Finish: clean, cooling, coastal, with mint and a faint ocean-breeze salinity.