York Gin has launched a brand-new limited-edition spirit flavoured with wild herbs foraged right from the city’s own riverbanks and meadows, with £2 from every bottle going directly to Age UK York.
Titled ForaGIN, the drink is the very first release in York Gin’s new ‘Distiller’s Cut’ series. Coming in at a punchy 47.5% ABV – stronger than their standard line-up – the spirit features four wild botanicals hand-picked over the summer by local foraging expert and Age UK York deputy chief executive Carl Wain.
Carl gathered the lime tree flower, pineapple weed, hogweed seed, and cow parsley seed along popular walking routes around the River Ouse, Danesmead Wood, Millennium Fields, and Nun Ings. The distillers at York Distillery then distilled each plant individually in small copper stills to lock in their distinct flavours before blending them by hand into their signature London Dry gin.
“Every plant in this gin grew wild within a walk of the city,” said Carl Wain. “Hogweed seed that smells of cardamom and orange, lime blossom loud with bees, cow parsley frothing the lanes in May. York’s riverbanks and hedgerows are a larder most people walk straight past. It’s a real pleasure to see them distilled into a lovely spirit.”
York Gin explained that distilling each foraged botanical separately allowed them to find the exact balance needed to craft this debut Distiller’s Cut edition.
Only 200 bottles of ForaGIN are being produced in total, with no plans to make any more once they sell out. Gin fans can pick up a bottle at the York Gin shop or order online directly at yorkgin.com/foragin.
