Understanding Gin Botanicals
Article 3 of 3 · Wild Distillery · Bornholm
Understanding Gin Botanicals
From juniper to sea buckthorn — what's in the bottle, and why the raw ingredients behind botanicals matter.
Gin is, by definition, a spirit in which juniper is the dominant botanical ingredient. But that's only the starting point. What separates an ordinary gin from an exceptional one is the sum of the plants and herbs surrounding the juniper — and the precision with which they're selected and distilled.
01
Juniper: the very soul of gin
Juniper (Juniperus communis) isn't just an ingredient — it's gin's identity. EU law requires juniper to be the dominant flavour in any gin. But "dominant" isn't the same as "overpowering," and that's where the difference between the ordinary and the exceptional begins.
Intensively cultivated juniper produces a heavy, resinous flavour — the pine-like note many know from cheap gin. Wild juniper is an entirely different experience. The juniper growing in Bornholm's Ravnedalen matures slowly in sun and rocky terrain, developing a nuanced, fresh, and aromatic character.
At Wild Distillery, the wild juniper is hand-foraged under special permit from the Danish Nature Agency. You'll find it in its purest form in our WILD Botanicals Gin.
Our gin tastes of gin and juniper — not of pine.
— Wild Distillery
02
Sea buckthorn, elderflower, and wild herbs
The Nordic climate produces plants and herbs with an intensity and concentration that's hard to find elsewhere. Short, intense summers with long, bright days force plants to concentrate aroma and flavour within a shorter growing season.
ENE ORGANIC GIN — ORIGINAL DRY
The dominant botanical — fresh, aromatic and complex. Hand-foraged from Bornholm's Ravnedalen under special permit from the Danish Nature Agency.
Adds a fresh, lightly citrusy sweetness that lifts the juniper without overpowering it.
Fresh citrus notes giving a bright, crisp edge to the gin's aroma.
Complements the lime peel — together they create a vivid, fresh citrus dimension.
An earthy depth and gentle bitterness. Binds the composition together.
Warm, subtle spice that adds complexity and a soft warmth to the finish.
Round sweetness and softness that rounds off the gin's profile with a long, pleasant finish.
03
Protected nature — Ravnedalen
Wild Distillery is the only producer permitted to forage wild juniper from Ravnedalen — a protected nature reserve on Bornholm. Only 350 bottles of WILD Botanicals Gin are produced each year. It isn't a marketing choice — it's a natural consequence of taking your raw ingredients seriously.
04
The foraging method
Botanicals for Wild Distillery's gin are foraged and handled with the same care as ingredients for fine cooking.
Wild plants and herbs are hand-harvested at exactly the right point in the season. Precise timing determines aroma intensity.
Certified organic ingredients go through thorough inspection. Only the best reaches the column.
The ingredients are added directly to the column, where they impart character to the vapour during distillation.
A gin that tastes exactly as it should. Clean, well-balanced, and an expression of the place it comes from. Taste it for yourself by booking a tour and tasting with us on Bornholm.
Come behind the scenes and hear Henrik Nerst tell the story of the craft, the history and the products.
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