Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Gin 1L
Monkey 47 traces its story to Wing Commander Montgomery Collins, a British Royal Air Force officer who settled in Germany's Black Forest after the war and began distilling his own gin at a guesthouse he ran there, reportedly naming it after Max, a monkey he had adopted from the Berlin Zoo. The original recipe was lost for decades until it resurfaced during a renovation of the property in the early 2000s, prompting Alexander Stein to found Black Forest Distillers in 2008 and revive the gin under the name Monkey 47, now part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio.
True to its name, the gin is built from forty seven hand selected botanicals, roughly a third of them foraged locally in the Black Forest, including spruce tips, lingonberries, elderflower, and blackthorn. Citrus peels are added fresh rather than dried, and all the botanicals are present together during distillation in the London Dry method. Following distillation, the spirit rests in large earthenware vessels for around one hundred days to oxidize and harmonize before it is diluted with soft regional spring water and bottled near the distillery.
The result is dense and layered, opening with juniper and cracked pepper before giving way to bright citrus, forest berries, and a distinct herbal, almost resinous depth. The finish is long and slightly bitter, with a lingering floral note. Its complexity holds up well in a Last Word or French 75, and it is equally satisfying served simply over ice with a wedge of citrus and a splash of tonic.