Bax Botanics has often been compared to an alc-free gin. Richard Davie and Miriam Nice from BBC Good Food hailed it as “The Best Alcohol-Free Gin” in a review….but Chris and Rose never set out to make a gin.
The dictionary definition of gin is: “a clear alcoholic spirit distilled and flavoured with juniper berries”. So, an alcohol-free gin must also be flavoured with juniper you would think, but we don’t use Juniper in our distillation. So what is Bax Botanics?
A new era of botanical drinks is emerging that are not Juniper-based…That’s us!
Just like when making gin, distillation is used to extract the beautiful taste and scents from botanical ingredients, add a couple more secret techniques and you are on your way to creating a drink.
What makes the process of distilling different?
The interesting thing about distilling with botanicals is the range of flavours you can extract. The process can create amazing depth and complexity of flavour, that previously has been lacking for those not drinking alcohol.
Botanical ingredients are so versatile – when you think of the incredible choice we have! From Fruits and berries, through fragrant herbs, bitter roots, seeds, and aromatic spices. Even seaweeds and fungi, there are almost endless combinations.
Although it sounds easy, It takes a lot of skill to balance the ingredients together to formulate delicious drinks.
It’s all about balancing sour with sweet, wood and earthy with acidity, etc. but with literally thousands of combinations available, it’s an art!
The Emotional link
The other thing about smell and taste is that it is incredibly evocative of a time and place. Do you remember a time when a taste or smell brought back vivid memories? Have you ever had a moment, when you are taken by surprise by a tiny sensory stimulus (e.g. the scent of your Mum’s soap) that evokes an emotional memory of when you were a child?
This moment that is the ‘taste/memory link’ people call ‘the Proustian moment’ It was described more than 100 years ago when Marcel Proust dunked cake in his tea!! “I quivered attentive to the thing that was happening inside me”
This is where things got really interesting, and we have always tried to add this extra feeling with the recipe of botanicals in our drinks.
There are two versions of Bax Botanics that have distinctly different characters.
Bax Botanics Verbena served with tonic is the bright zingy one, with mint, fennel, and floral notes, all designed to pep you up. It’s refreshing and uplifting, all created by using herbs with high notes, bright fragrance, and citrus.
Perfect for when you’re out for lunch with the girls, watching the cricket, picnicking in the park, or just want a pick me up after a day at work or a shopping trip! Verbena is the one that puts a zing in your mouth and a spring in your step.
Our Sea Buckthorn is the calming one, the other end of the scale in our eyes, lay back and relax with a mix of Seville orange, rosemary, and lightly warming spices. Somehow this recipe gives us an ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh at the end of the day. Turn on some chill-out tunes, early or late it’s time to get mellow and unwind. Speakeasy AF.
We really believe that botanicals can excite our tastebuds and transport us to memories and places. Experimenting with flavour is still one of our favourite things to do.
Our Organic, Fair-Trade Botanicals are used with skill and care to create our drinks.
But are Bax Botanics’ drinks Gins?
No, they are alcohol-free botanical distillations, but that’s a bit of a mouthful, albeit a totally delicious one!
Intrigued and want more information on our botanical drinks then head over to our product pages:
This blog was written by us for Yada Collective a fabulous dry bar in Derby, they also have a shop where they sell a great range of alcohol-free drinks. Check them out if you are in Derby or have a look at their online shop here.
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