The combination of green tea, jasmine and bergamot.
Did you know? France also produces tea! For this new gin, we imagined a daring marriage between Breton green tea, carefully selected by Maison Émile Auté, and the floral notes of jasmine from Florence Fontanes (Les Fleurs de Florence) and bergamot from our other partner L'Agrumiste (see Ferrand Dry Curaçao Yuzu Late Harvest).
Jasmine, a precious and delicate white flower, adds a sophisticated floral touch, while bergamot, a citrus fruit often used in perfumery, gives it a unique freshness.
Breton green tea adds a herbaceous dimension, as well as structure and length on the palate, making the whole creation even more harmonious.
Our collaboration with Emile Auté
Surprisingly, there are around 40 tea producers in France, most of them in Brittany. We were seduced by the passion and quality of the teas from Emile Auté, which would best sublimate the style and aromatic diversity of Citadelle Gin.
In fact, Emile Auté, while deeply respectful of the historic tea-producing countries, also claims the freedom to reinterpret its field in order to offer original creations. An approach that is perfectly in line with our constant search for new flavours!
"Our two crafts are very similar. I'm delighted with this collaboration, because the tea comes to the fore in this very high quality gin" - Emile Auté
Made from authentic Camellia Sinensis leaves, its teas are particularly distinctive for their richness and subtlety, offering a different experience with every infusion. This is the case with thé glaz, an unclassifiable signature of the Breton House, somewhere between green and blue tea, which was chosen for its iodised freshness, its complexity and its ability to infuse up to 7 times without losing its organoleptic qualities.
Meticulous rotavap distillation to preserve the aromas
To capture all the finesse of these botanicals, we opted for a Rotavap, or rotary evaporator, distillation. We have a model with a capacity of 100 litres of charge, which is unusual as most rotavaps have a capacity of 1 to 2 litres!
This technique allows relatively fragile botanicals such as green tea, bergamot and jasmine to be distilled at low temperatures, preserving all the aromatic complexity of the ingredients, especially the most delicate ones.
"The rotary evaporator works by distilling macerates under vacuum; the liquid is simply heated via a water bath at 40°C. When the vacuum is applied, the boiling temperature of the molecules is reduced, so there is no need to apply excessive heat for the distillate to start appearing. On the other hand, with a traditional Charentais still over an open flame, the temperature would be very high. This would cause reactions affecting the organoleptic profile of the botanicals, which we do not desire. We choose the best still based on the organoleptic profile we want to achieve in the final product." - Fannie, Research and Development Manager
Each of these 3 ingredients were distilled separately to obtain highly accurate distillates. We then carefully blended them with our original Citadelle Gin, which is distilled from 19 botanicals in our Charentais stills.
The result is a perfect balance between the character of our signature gin and the fresh, delicate floral notes of this unique combination of green tea, jasmine and bergamot.
A limited edition available exclusively at the distillery
Named Thé French, this new gin is available exclusively at our distillery shop, in a limited edition of 996 bottles - a nod to the year Citadelle Gin was created (ie. 1996).
We can't wait for you to taste this unique creation, the fruit of our passion for developing new flavours and our commitment to working with artisans who share our values of excellence!
If this little ‘appetiser’ has piqued your curiosity, don't waste anymore time:
Member discussion