One of the most challenging aspects of creating a new botanically driven spirit is the sheer limitlessness of possibilities. How do you begin to build a botanical bill of four, seven, or 12 ingredients when you’ve got hundreds of options?
For some distilleries—especially those concentrating on categories such as gin and amaro—the answer lies in building a botanical library. This is a collection of infusions and distillations made from single ingredients in small batches so they can be revisited time and time again—they can be tasted, and blended with other samples to start driving toward a finished recipe.
Such a library fuels research and development, helping you to fine-tune some recipes and inspire others from scratch, meanwhile developing your long-term knowledge base of various ingredients.
Let’s look at both the logistics and the challenges of creating, maintaining, and benefiting from this kind of collection.