Bordiga Occitan Gin Italiano 42% 700ml

This is not your London dry dressed in a toga. This is Alpine gin, wild and herbal, with a backbone of Italian terroir and a whisper of mountain wind. Bordiga distils it with hand-foraged botanicals from the Occitan Alps — juniper that grows at altitude, rosemary, sage, angelica, and a secret blend that smells like tradition meeting mischief.

The nose is clean but rustic. Fresh juniper — sharp, green, almost resinous — leaps forward, wrapped in wild herbs, dried lemon peel, and something faintly woody, like pine cone and dry root. There’s no sweetness, no softness. Just crisp, dry aromatics and a sense of walking through a sun-drenched hillside after rain.

On the palate, it’s dry, punchy, and beautifully integrated. Juniper leads again, but the herbs round it out — thyme, bay leaf, a touch of savoury sage and mint. There’s a wildflower bitterness underneath it all — almost wormwood-esque — giving the gin a rugged backbone. It finishes peppery and clean, with faint citrus oil and a touch of eucalyptus.

Serve it with dry tonic and a sprig of rosemary. Even better — use it in a Martini with a splash of Bordiga’s own dry vermouth and a lemon twist. This is a gin with gravel in its boots and poetry in its bones.