Spirit style
Chinese Gin
中国金酒Zhōngguó jīnjiǔ
Juniper meets Sichuan pepper, Buddha's hand and lotus flower
- Category
- Craft gin with Chinese botanicals
- Signature producer
- Peddlers Gin
- Home region
- Shanghai and other cities
Taste profile
Sweetness
DrySweetSweetness: 2 out of 5Intensity
DelicateIntenseIntensity: 3 out of 5Body
LightFullBody: 2 out of 5Finish
ShortLongFinish: 3 out of 5
Aromas
- juniper
- citrus
- Sichuan pepper
- floral
- spice
Chinese gin is a young craft category built on a simple idea: combining juniper with botanicals from Chinese cuisine and traditional medicine. The pioneer is Peddlers Gin, from Shanghai, widely regarded as China's first craft gin, which blends juniper with Sichuan pepper, Buddha's hand citron, lotus flower and Xinjiang almonds. Other craft brands, such as Crimson Pangolin, have followed.
Gin is still a tiny share of China's spirits market, but bartenders and craft distillers see a big opportunity. China's rich range of botanicals, from Sichuan pepper to cassia, lotus and citrus, gives distillers a unique palette for creating new flavour profiles.
The trick is balance. Peddlers' founders wanted a gin that was distinctly Chinese without being gimmicky: their Sichuan pepper adds peppery spice without the numbing sensation of Sichuan cooking.
Botanicals from the Chinese pantry
Chinese gin draws on one of the richest botanical traditions in the world. Common ingredients include Sichuan pepper, Buddha's hand citron, lotus flower, osmanthus, green and oolong tea, cassia, goji, star anise and citrus peels. Each distiller builds a different balance around juniper.
How to taste it
Taste it first neat at room temperature to understand the botanicals, then in a simple gin and tonic. The best Chinese gins remain clearly gin, with juniper at the centre, and use their Chinese botanicals as accents rather than gimmicks.
Where to find it
Chinese craft gin is still rare in Europe. Specialist spirits shops and cocktail bars are the best places to look, and Peddlers has been one of the first to reach international shelves.
Producers
Bottles
How to serve
With premium tonic and ice, or in classic gin cocktails.
Food pairings
- A gin and tonic with Sichuan pepper notes is a natural match for spicy Sichuan snacks and dumplings.
Sources
- Peddlers Gin: distilling rare Eastern botanicals — DRiNK Magazine Asia, 2018
- Pioneers of China's gin scene — DRiNK Magazine Asia
- Gin in China — Medium, 2019