Spirited Away

Gin makers take a cue from wine and distill landscapes in a bottle.

- Lou Bustamante

YOU’D EXPECT TO DRINK Pinot Noir and discuss terroir, the idea that the climate and land in which grapes are grown impart unique characteristics. But gin? Why not? Instead of fruit, local botanicals— soaked in a still or suspended in baskets above the spirit base as it’s vaporized en route to a condenser— define terroir.