Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin 500 ml

Spurred on by an oft-cited herbal curiosity, but even more so by a well-nigh obsessive pursuit of the highest-possible quality, Black Forest Distillers embark on botanical expeditions each year. In 2019, the journey led them into the very depths of the Black Forest on a hunt for … spruce shoots! One in three of the botanicals in Monkey 47 are locally sourced from the Black Forest, and spruce shoots are one of them. Along with the typical resinous note you’d expect to find, they contain a tangy bit of limonene that gives Monkey 47 its fresh citrus aroma.

The spruce is the subject of many myths and tales due to its prevalence in the Black Forest’s renowned scenery. The region is home to the common (European) spruce, which can reach heights of up to 60 metres and live for as many as 600 years. Its trunk, meanwhile, can measure up to a metre and a half in diameter. The tree’s pointed top comprises several levels, and its evergreen needles spiral around their branches; this is one of the main ways in which the spruce differs from the fir tree, whose needles typically run along opposing sides of a branch.

The shoots of coniferous trees have long been employed in folk medicine and traditional cuisine. Their uses were described by the polymath Hildegard von Bingen in the Middle Ages, and they are also mentioned in the works of hydrotherapist Sebastian Kneipp. In addition to essential oils and secondary plant compounds, spruce shoots contain chlorophyll – and in particular, vitamin C. (This is why they were once so highly valued by sailors as a means of preventing scurvy.)

Spruce shoots are harvested when they are in bloom in April and May, or even in June in rare cases. To avoid disrupting the growth of spruce trees, it’s important to remove only isolated “May shoots” – the soft, fresh, bright-green tips of the branches – before they open up. Black Forest Distillers take this very approach in securing their own harvest, which then needs to be dried before joining the numerous other botanicals that go into each bottle of Monkey 47.

Editor Choice: A unique gin, that is crying out to be made into a Martini. It'll need an equally robust vermouth though. 

Awards:

Drinks International 2020, Best Selling Brands: No.5

Drinks International 2020, Top Trending Brands: No.1

Cocktail Recipe: Monkey Le Curk

 Ingredients: 

5 cl Monkey 47 Dry Gin
2 cl Elderflower Cordial
1 cl Sugar Syrup
2 cl fresh lemon juice
¾ Cucumber
4 cl Cloudy apple juice
Apple slice

Preparation:

Muddle the cucumber, lemon, cordial and syrup in a shaker & add other ingredients. Shake it with ice cubes and double strain it into a highball glass with ice. Garnish the drink with an apple slice and cucumber.

Cocktail Recipe: Breakfast Martini

5 cl Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
1.5 cl Cointreau
2 cl fresh lemon juice
1 spoon English orange marmelade
Orange zest

Preparation:
Stir marmelade and Monkey 47 together until it dissolves. Add the other ingredients and shake everything with ice. Strain it into a chilled Martini glass and garnish it with an orange zest.

Cocktail Recipe: Suffering Bastard

Ingredients:

2 cl Monkey 47
2 cl bourbon
2 cl lime juice
2 dashes bitter
10 cl ginger ale

Preparation:

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Add Monkey 47, bourbon, lime juice and bitter. Top up with ginger ale. Garnish with an orange wedge and a mint sprig. 

Cocktail Recipe: Satan's Whiskers

Ingredients:
1,5 cl Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
1,5 cl Dry Vermouth
1,5 cl Sweet vermouth
1,5 cl Grand Manier
1,5 cl Orangensaft
1 Ds. Orange Bitters
Orange Zest

Preparation:
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled coupette glass. Garnish with a orange zest.

Cocktail Recipe: Gin Julep

Ingredients:
5 cl Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
1 cl simple syrup
15 mint leaves

Preparation:
Muddle all ingredients, shake it with ice cubes and double-strain into a silver mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish it with a mint leave.

Cocktail Recipe: Bee's Knees

Ingredients:
6 cl Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
3 cl runny honey
2,5 cl lemon juice
lemon zest

Preparation:
Shake and strain into a coupette. Garnish with a lemon zest.