No other spirit presents such a blank canvas onto which a distiller can tell a story about a place or culture as does gin. So it is with the award-winning A Mari Atlantic Ocean craft gin. It’s a West Coast powerhouse – made with distilled water from the Atlantic Ocean and botanicals from the diverse West Coast fynbos.
Appropriately, A Mari is Latin for “from the sea”. Why ocean water? Well, it actually improves the gin’s flavour by extracting the botanical oils more efficiently during distillation, according to distillers Niel du Toit and Jess Henrich.
Equivalent to a fresh sea breeze, this spirit is richly floral, with herbaceous citrus notes, hints of peppery spices and an evocative finish.
The palate is soft at first. Slight heat emerges as the botanicals unfold. Allspice and juniper are early and prominent. Their volume decreases on the mid-palate. That’s where an intense note of citrus comes in – with facets of orange peel and tangerine, plus a hint of lemons. For the climax, the citrus gives way to West Coast fynbos and coriander for a medium-length finish.
Serve with light tonic, a dash of pink peppercorns and a grapefruit slice. For the perfect pairing, try it in a dirty martini with oysters alongside. Or top up with MCC for a summertime spritz.
Niel and Jess also make A Mari Indian Ocean gin. Buy online: www.amarigin.com; or mail niel@amarigin.com