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Lance Winters talks about his new nostalgic Terroir gin.
When St. George Spirits owner Lance Winters was distilling his new Terroir gin, the goal was to capture the essence of Mount Tamalpais State Park. But then, people sampled the intensely earthy, woodsy notes of the gin distilled with local Douglas fir, laurel, and sage, and Winters found he had captured something even more universal.
“There was this guy from Poland who picked it up, smelled it, and said his mind was going back to the woods in Poland, harvesting mushrooms with his grandmother,” Winters says. “Then, a bartender told me, ‘I grew up in North Dakota, and this is exactly what home smells like to me.’ ”
The nostalgic blend manages to give off a sense of the forest that has resonated with many—and is one of three remarkable new gins released by the Alameda-based distillery, including Botanivore, a brightly floral gin distilled with 19 botanicals, and Dry Rye, a spicy, juniper-packed version in between whiskey and gin.
Local cocktail expert Scott Beattie gave us recipes using all three gins. For these, including the full Coastal Collins recipe with pickled huckleberry garnish, go to diablomag.com/gin
Coastal Collins
Ingredients
1 ½ ounces St. George Terroir gin
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
½ ounce simple syrup
¾ ounce seltzer or club soda
Directions
Pour gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in cocktail shaker with ice, cover and shake. Add seltzer or club soda and pour into a collins glass.
