Death's Door Gin

Washington Island, Wisconsin, June of 2012. My first camping trip with my then-girlfriend of about six months, now my wife. We stayed in a little cabin in a campground on the island; we spent the days exploring the secluded beaches and abandoned lighthouse, and passed the evening around a campfire...it's still awfully chilly in the evening when you're in the northern reaches of the Great Lakes Midwest. It was a wonderful time, and a perfect deep breath before she started her third year of medical school and I started my several month stint of "funemployment" before being called to serve my first parish post-seminary. To get to this paradise on Lake Michigan, we had to take a ferry from the northern tip of the Door Peninsula to the island across the Porte des Morts - Death's Door. While the distillery itself is in Middleton, a Madison suburb, the raw ingredients come back to the mainland across that treacherous little strait. Washington Island wheat for the mash, and three botanicals - juniper, coriander, fennel. That's it here. It is as simple as a gin comes - no plants that send you scrambling for your old Herbology textbooks from your time at Hogwarts, no exotic spices from distant lands, no surprising ingredients. Much like how the best Italian food is a simple combination of a few good quality ingredients at their prime, though, this is a gin more than the sum of its few parts. The spirit itself is almost creamy - that same soft, luscious quality found in a wheated bourbon or wheaty single grain whiskey is present here, with all of the rough edges smoothed away like the rocks on Schoolhouse Beach back on the island. The juniper lends a freshness, but it's the fennel that's the star of the show - not too licorice-esque, nor too Italian sausage-y, but in spicy harmony with the juniper. I suppose you could mix this in a cocktail, but honestly, it's nice enough on its own, and I'd hate to lose the distinct personality of the gin. Worth seeking out...just like Washington Island.

For only having three botanicals this packs a nice little punch and gives rise to the question whether or not the one dillion botanicals I see listed on oher brands are even necessary. But it’s a little too thin in body and has a little bit too much of an acrid burn for this to rank very high in my pathetic book but what do I know? Nothing. Nothing, America. I know nothing. I’m not being humble here or self-deprecating. I’m of the idea that the less you know, the more intelligent you are. So yeah all I know is that I don’t know. But somehow I’m still apparently more intelligent than 67.88% of the country. Shoutout to the CDC for keeping measurable stats on this.

Really excellent all-purpose American Gin. More delicate and not a citrus-bruiser, which is refreshing compared to many new gins. Really focuses on the basics, and the juniper shines through. Also a "soft" gin, which plays really well in cocktails. After trying dozens of gins, this has become our standard house gin for nicer cocktails--with the caveat that it's much more affordable in the 1.75L bottles than it is in the 750s. Highly recommended.

Smells like chemicals at first, very strange mid-front tongue sizzle. Herbal, for sure, not too spicy. Like breathing out a garden at the finish. A bit of tongue numbness at the end and lingering after.

Juniper, anise, some spice, but rather spare in a good way, especially for mixing. Light body and mouthfeel. Not a floral citrus New American style gin.

Very strongly botanicals but so flavorful. In a regular dish, I would not care for fennel flavor, but in this crisp gin, it works.