North Shore Distillery Distiller's Gin No 6 is 45% abv. / 90 proof and is made in Lake Bluff, Il. North Shore Distillery Distiller's Gin No 6 is one of the new, modern, small batch, craft distilled spirits that are becoming a driving force in the market. This isn't your traditional London Dry Style gin, although it definitely uses that as a jumping point. Some of the botanicals used in the gin are Juniper, Cardamom, Angelica root, Lemon zest, and Lavender. Of course, like many distilleries, the other botanicals used are a trade secret.

Distiller's No. 6 has a lovely soft and full, ginny aroma. A solid juniper presence with hints of lavender and cardamom, and a nice touch of wood on the end gives it a smooth complexity. This is a really great smelling gin. It reminds me of a craft shop full of fine and exotic woods ready for carving, their dust scenting the air, and jars of herbs for making sachets and potpourri adding to the mix. This gin goes into my top five for the exceptionally pleasing scent.

The taste starts of smooth with good juniper, then rapidly becomes nicely floral. Then it surprisingly becomes sharp and hot. The heat is most probably from the fact that this gin is a bit stronger at 90 proof than most other gins. It's a very fast progression from mild and pleasant to a bit on the strong side. The cardamom builds up slow, and then becomes a powerhouse, taking over the other flavors. The cardamom then slowly backs down, but not without a fight. You are finally left with a very nice floral finish that lasts a long time.

I think this is a gin that some people will like, and others not. I don't think everyone will find it to be a sipping gin, but it makes very good cocktails. The cardamoms complexity and power add much to a drink that has citrus and/or herb elements to it.

Distiller's No. 6 strongly reminds me a lot of some of the infused gins I used to make. I love cardamom, but it has to be used with care since it can easily take over the spirit. I think this batch, # 16 of Distiller's No. 6 is riding just on the edge of the line and maybe teetering over it. The first time I tried it straight and on the rocks I was a bit overwhelmed. I had to walk away from it for a while before trying it again a few weeks later. My second experience with it was at the Gin for Charity event I wrote about a few months ago. I had No.6 in an Aviation cocktail, and when placed side by side with five other Aviation's, each made with the same recipe but a different gin, I was easily able to say which was made with Distiller's No. 6. It was a very good cocktail, with the strength and flavor of the gin coming through.

After that event I didn't try it for another few weeks. I was busy researching and reviewing dessert, sparkling, and fortified wines for a while. Here and there I had it in a GnT and a Martini and liked it quite a bit. It wasn't until I sat done to do this review that I sipped it straight once again. After getting past the power of the botanicals I started to enjoy it more and more. I have had this happen before with other gins. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about them, but after time, as my brain wrapped itself around the particulars of the gin, I grew to really enjoy it. This is definitely what happened with Distiller's No. 6 and I like it quite a lot.

I have only tried two bottles from batch number 16 and am curious about how the gin is developing from batch to batch. North Shore Distillery is very new, they released their gin for the first time in late 2005, and I feel that they are still fine tuning and developing their products. It takes years, even decades to learn the idiosyncrasies of a pot still. I look forward to the future as they bring this gin into balance, smooth out the botanicals, and cool it off a bit.

That said, there are those who feel that No. 6 is perfect as it is. Distiller's Gin No. 6 recently received an "Exceptional" rating from the Beverage Testing Institute (Gold Medal), and was rated the Best Gin (over Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray No. 10 and Hendricks) by Chicago Magazine (January 2007).

North Shore Distillery also made two limited edition, special edition batches of gin in the summer of 2006. One using Gin No. 6 mingled with Medjool dates and the other Gin No. 6 mingled with Ceylon Black Tea. They both sound very interesting and I wish I had the chance to taste them. I recently found out that they also just released a Gin No. 11 that it more traditional, with a stronger juniper presence. The only problem with this is that so far it is only available to the restaurant trade. So you won't be seeing it on store shelves any time soon. I am really curious about it and hope to get a chance to try it eventually. North Shore Distilleries products are only available in a limited area, but expect that to change as they ramp up production over the next few years. I definitely recommend that all you premium spirit lovers keep your eye out for their products.