Botanica Spiritvs Gift Baskets

"I have been a biochemist, winemaker, bartender and distiller," says Farid Dormishian, the founder and master distiller at Falcon Spirits. Dormishian, who studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California at Berkeley, conducted his undergraduate research project on yeast fermentation while bartending "in order to pay for the ever escalating cost of tuition." After receiving his degree, Dormishian constructed an herb library (it had over 50 different herbs sourced from across the globe) and began distilling each herb separately. "My goal was to identify the characteristics that would produce the most compatible and unique flavors for my gin." Botanica Spiritvs Gin is crafted using thirteen botanicals that were part of Dormishians library. "The botanicals that can be found locally have been sourced directly from the farm,"he says. "For example, I use three citruses: Bergamot orange, Meyers lemon and Oro Blanco Grapefruit. I pick these fruits up personally from farms across California and hand zest all 400 pounds of each citrus when they are in season."Once the botanicals have been sourced, they are distilled together with the gins corn-based backbone six times. Following distillation, the gin is rested in stainless steel tanks for three weeks before being brought to proof using a cucumber-infused water. "I love the taste of cucumber and I can make a lovely cucumber vodka," says Dormishian. "But in order to retain the cucumbers brightness, I macerate the cucumber, soak it in water from Sierra Nevada Mountains and put it in the freezer. As the water inside the cucumber freezes, the cucumber cells explode and release their flavor to the water upon thawing. I use the water to dilute my distilled gin to bottling strength."Botanica Spiritvs Gin has an herbaceous aroma, with touches of fresh grapefruit and coriander that give way to notes of spicy cassia, ginger, lemon and tart cucumber on the palate. The finish is sharp and crisp, with hints of bergamot and cucumber that linger.Botanica Spiritvs Gin is perfect sipped neat or can be used to make a delicious cocktail. In addition, each batch of gin produces only 300 bottles. Pick one up today!