The gin market is a highly competitive one at the moment. To survive, you have to have a unique offering that cries out to be tasted and keeps them coming back for more. We encountered such a product at JFEX this year. The catchy name that comes dangerously close to offending the sensibilities of the snowflakes among us caught our eye and was one reason for our urge to taste it. The other was wood, namely, birch. Our readers know all too well that we relish all things wooden, with the exception of speeches and people, of course.
Son of a Birch gin is made by Birra Del Bosco Brewery and Marzadro Distillery, located in the Trentino Alto Adige region of Italy and hit the market in 2019. It is due to be released in Japan in January of 2025. Birra Del Bosco also has a line of beers that are available in Japan now. For more information on the beers, please use this link: https://www.birradellamontagna.com/.
The facts: Son of a Birch is 45% alcohol and contains the following botanicals, according to a fact sheet distributed by Birra: “juniper, raspberry, mountain cumin, and birch bark.” Cumin, by the way, was a pepper substitute for the Romans, when pepper prices were too high.1
Sensory stuff: The palate is initially greeted by that emissary of the forest, the Birch. It is soon joined by that go-to botanical for the creation of gin, juniper berries. The cumin and raspberry announce their presence but are more subdued. The overall experience is wonderful.
*Birch forest by Voutilainen, Erkki – Finnish Heritage Agency, Finland – CC BY.
https://www.europeana.eu/item/2021009/_F4F36BE98BE381C0234426F9E908F95D
1Duke, J. Living Liqueurs (Lincoln, MA: Quarterman Publications, Inc., 1987).
Drinking Japan 