St George Spirits Botanivore Gin 750ml

The name is the mission statement. A botanivore eats botanicals — consumes them, depends on them, cannot exist without them. St. George Spirits' Botanivore Gin is what happens when a master distiller with a laboratory full of test stills, glass beakers, graduated cylinders, and what Caskers calls "the obsessive curiosity of a mad scientist" decides that a gin should not merely contain botanicals but be entirely defined by them — a symphony of 19 different herbs, spices, fruits, and roots working in concert rather than a single botanical note supported by a chorus of generic background flavors.

St. George Spirits was founded in 1982 in Alameda, California by German-born Jörg Rupf — making it one of the oldest craft distilleries in the United States, operating out of an old World War II airplane hangar on the edge of San Francisco Bay in what may be the most specifically Bay Area of all Bay Area industrial repurposing stories. Lance Winters, the master distiller who developed the Botanivore alongside Rupf and distiller Dave Smith, is widely described as approaching spirits production with the specific obsessive creativity that the Alameda hangar environment — part laboratory, part distillery, part museum of experimental curiosity — naturally produces.

The Botanivore was the result of that creativity applied to gin with a specific question: what can gin be when juniper is surrounded by a whole host of complementary botanicals rather than dominating everything in its path? Wine Enthusiast answered with 93 Points and a Top 50 Spirits of 2012 recognition. Park and Bond answered with "a sunshine-drenched greenhouse of a spirit." Esquire answered with "complex and bright." Master of Malt answered with "a greenhouse in a bottle." The Gin is In answered with "spicy and green, all at the same time — embodies the best of what contemporary gin can strive to be." And Drinkhacker answered, most practically: "ideal in a gin martini." Every answer is accurate. Every answer describes the same gin.

Origins & Craftsmanship

St. George Spirits was founded in Alameda, California in 1982 by Jörg Rupf — whose German heritage in eau-de-vie production shaped the distillery's founding philosophy of fruit-forward, terroir-expressive spirits made with the same obsessive quality focus that European artisan distilling traditions brought to brandy and schnapps. The distillery occupies Building 161 at the former Naval Air Station Alameda — a World War II airplane hangar on the edge of San Francisco Bay whose massive scale and industrial heritage provide both the physical space and the slightly mad-scientist atmosphere that Lance Winters' production philosophy requires.

The Botanivore is one of three gins that St. George produces — alongside the more assertively juniper-forward Terroir Gin and the aged, barrel-influenced Dry Rye Gin — each expressing a distinct philosophy about what gin can be beyond the London Dry convention. The Botanivore is, as the distillery describes it, "a meadow in bloom — herbaceous, fresh, and elegant" — the gin that explores lushness and complexity rather than juniper supremacy.

The 19 botanicals are: angelica root, California bay laurel, bergamot peel, Malabar black peppercorn, caraway, cardamom, fresh cilantro, Saigon cinnamon, citra hops, coriander seed, dill seed, fennel seed, ginger, juniper berries, lemon peel, lime peel, orris root, Seville orange peel, and star anise. The production method is the most technically interesting aspect of the recipe: rather than treating all 19 botanicals identically, Winters vapor-infuses three of them — juniper berries, California bay laurel, and fresh cilantro — in the botanical basket mounted above the spirit, capturing their most delicate and most volatile aromatic compounds through steam contact rather than direct spirit immersion. The remaining 16 botanicals are steeped overnight in the base spirit before distillation — the longer contact time extracting the fuller, more deeply integrated flavor compounds that root, bark, and seed botanicals require. The gin is then distilled in the distillery's Holstein copper pot still. Each batch produces approximately 800 bottles — a genuinely small production that reflects the labor-intensive 19-botanical process rather than simply a marketing claim. Bottled at 45% ABV / 90 proof.

Critics Reviews

Wine Enthusiast — 93 Points · Top 50 Spirits of 2012

Park and Bond: "A sunshine-drenched greenhouse of a spirit."

Esquire: "Complex and bright."

Master of Malt: "A greenhouse in a bottle. Spicy with fennel, cardamom and orange peels shining through, but sweetness coming from the cinnamon and orange peel balances it out. Earthy spices, crystallised ginger and caraway. Lemon and lime peel give it freshness, as does the bay laurel and coriander."

The Gin is In: "Vivid cinnamon sticks, spicy ginger candy and bright pepper. A hint of almost Aquavit-like caraway. Cool and piney juniper coming on right after the ginger note. Hops and a touch of clean astringency. A cool licorice-like back note on the finish. Spicy and green, all at the same time. Embodies the best of what contemporary gin can strive to be."

Drinkhacker: "The finish returns to the forest floor but adds brighter elements with notes of lemony hops, candied orange, and lime wedge before concluding with a long kiss of pine, mint, and ginger. Great in pretty much any cocktail, but ideal in a gin martini. Botanivore completes a string of aces for the St. George gin lineup."

Difford's Guide: "Dry, herbaceous, peppery and well-balanced with the plethora of botanicals harmoniously presented. Botanivore is a classic gin in style, if not in flavour — juniper is present but integrated rather than domineering."

St. George Spirits official: "Fresh and elegantly herbaceous, with bright citrus, subtle floral notes, earth, and spice. Remarkable for its depth of flavor. A perfectly balanced, deeply layered gin."

Tasting Profile

Nose Crystal clear with brilliant luminosity. The nose is the Botanivore's most immediately and most specifically impressive quality: the dual-method distillation producing a layered complexity that no single-steep botanical program can achieve. Menthol and eucalyptus arrive first from the vapor-infused California bay laurel — cool, slightly medicinal, and entirely specific to the California terroir ingredient that distinguishes this gin from any European production. Juniper follows — present but integrated rather than dominant, the vapor infusion capturing the most delicate aromatic compounds of the berries without the aggressive resinous quality that direct steeping extracts. Fresh cilantro adds the most distinctive and most unexpected aromatic dimension — slightly grassy, slightly lime-adjacent, and entirely unlike any herb that standard London Dry botanicals include. Citrus arrives in waves: bergamot, lemon, lime, and Seville orange combining into a vivid citrus chord. Cardamom and ginger add spice complexity. Fennel and star anise add anise-adjacent herbal warmth. Cinnamon and caraway add the warm baking spice and almost Aquavit-like dimension that makes the Botanivore's aromatic profile genuinely unusual. The citra hops add a faint, lemony floral dimension. The overall impression: a greenhouse, a meadow, and a California bay forest simultaneously in a single glass.

Palate Thick, warm, and slightly oily — the 19-botanical overnight steep's most directly physical contribution in a mouthfeel of unusual richness for a 45% gin. Vivid cinnamon sticks and spicy ginger candy arrive at entry with immediate warmth and energy. Black pepper builds quickly alongside the caraway's almost Aquavit-like quality — distinctive, slightly wild, and entirely harmonious with the overall botanical picture. The fennel and star anise contribute the cool licorice-adjacent dimension. Then the juniper arrives: cool and piney, coming on right after the ginger note subsides in the specific sequence that The Gin is In reviewer documented with precision. Citra hops contribute lemony, slightly bitter floral notes. Citrus zest brightens the mid-palate. The bay laurel's cool, menthol quality returns through the center. The balancing act of 19 different botanical voices — the remarkable quality of the Botanivore that every reviewer identifies — is most apparent on the palate: each botanical audible and distinct while all of them together producing something harmonious and unified.

Finish Long, warm, and spiced. The forest floor returns at the close alongside lemony hops, candied orange, and lime wedge before a long kiss of pine, mint, and ginger concludes the experience. A cool licorice-like back note persists. Clean astringency from the hops adds a final structural element. The finish is the Botanivore's most impressive quality statement — the complexity of 19 botanicals sustaining the experience through a close that keeps revealing new notes with each breath.

Quick Overview

Serving & Occasion

Gin Martini — Drinkhacker's specific recommendation as the ideal format confirmed across multiple reviewers. 2 oz Botanivore, ½ oz dry vermouth, stirred over ice, served up with a lemon twist or California bay laurel leaf. The 19-botanical complexity is most completely and most harmoniously expressed in the martini format — the vermouth's herbal character amplifying rather than competing with the Botanivore's botanical depth. The "welcome brightness and freshness" that the St. George distillery's own martini note describes is immediately confirmed.

Gin & Tonic — the distillery's first recommendation and the most broadly accessible format. 2 oz Botanivore over ice with premium tonic and a lime wedge. The citrus and herbal character carries through tonic's carbonation with complete clarity — a G&T of unusual complexity at every sip.

Bee's Knees — St. George's specific Botanivore cocktail recommendation. 2 oz Botanivore · ¾ oz fresh lemon juice · ¾ oz honey syrup. Shaken over ice, served up. The honey amplifies the Saigon cinnamon and cardamom spice while lemon amplifies the citrus botanical chorus — one of the most naturally suited classic cocktail formats for the Botanivore's specific flavor character.

Southside — St. George's third specific recommendation. 2 oz Botanivore · 1 oz fresh lime juice · ¾ oz simple syrup · fresh mint. Shaken over ice, served up. The mint amplifies the California bay laurel's cool menthol quality while lime amplifies the citrus botanical dimension — a cocktail that makes the meadow and greenhouse character most immediately vivid.