Highland Tears
Gin | Nova Scotia Foraged Spruce Tip
Was Spruce the conifer called ANNEDDA or "tree of life / arbre de vie" that cured Jacques Cartier's crew in 1536?
We may never know for sure. We do know that their miraculous recovery is the first documented use of indigenous medicine found to date.
At Below The Salt, nothing says Spring quite like the fragrant buds bursting forth on the spruce trees found everywhere on Unama'ki Cape Breton Island.
Lemony and packed full of Vitamin C, our gin infused with locally foraged spruce tips is the perfect antidote to a long cold winter.
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Organic, Vegan and made from the finest Nova Scotian floor malt sprouted the old fashioned way at Horton Ridge in the Annapolis Valley and organic Central American cane sugar.
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Distiller's Notes
My history with spruce tips began as a youngster when I was taught to make root beer, ginger beer, and spruce tip beer.
It was impressed upon me that harvesting the spruce tips was an art, with importance placed upon the timing of the harvest and the careful mitigation of damage to the trees.
For our gin we start with the same base as our vodka, then pass botanicals through the Carter head to create a Plymouth style base.
A final pass with the spruce tips creates a lovely earthiness with hints of citrus. .
TASTING NOTES: Subtle juniper flavour with underlying earth tones and a knock your socks off finish.
So incredibly smooth that we encourage you to savour it on its own, but it of course makes a
delicious gin & tonic or martini.
A Bit About our Label
Below the Salt pic fiend Victoria, infused our much loved Highland Tears brand with the glow of spring.