Bees and birds, azaleas and tulips, honeysuckle and lilac blossoms - all the sounds, sights and aromas of spring are suddenly, thankfully here in New England and the Northeast. All of that flora and fauna nature brings us has a hand in creating gin, the spirit made from juniper berries and whatever other botanicals our artisan distillers can dream up to put in the mix.
In the Seacoast area, we have quite a few distillers, some experimenting and succeeding with creating gins that include local botanicals. Portsmouth has its own Botanica Restaurant and Gin Bar which features gin cocktails like one of my favorites, The Last Word with Citadelle Gin, Green Chartreuse, Maraschino Liqueur and Lime or the Negroni en Blanc made with York Barrel Aged Wiggly Bridge Gin (York, Maine) Salers Gentiane and Blanc Vermouth.