gin no. 082 – Juiced Up Gin

In 2023, we visited Niagara Falls on our summer vacation, and my wife was excited to take me up to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I did a quick search and found that Wayne Gretzky has a winery and distillery up there, so we decided to go. We enjoyed it and even brought back a bottle of his Salted Caramel Canadian Cream Liqueur. But to my great dismay, The Great One doesn’t make gin. Really, how great can you be if you have a distillery but don’t make gin?

Another quick search identified Spirit in Niagara Distillery just a short ride away. And before we went, I made sure they had gin. Pulling up I was amazed by its charm. The little stone building could have been in the French countryside. Once we entered, we were quickly greeted and led out to a pleasant little patio for a tasting.

In addition to spirits, Spirits in Niagara has exceptional food. First we tried the roast beef crostini which features gin marinated roast beef, horseradish cream, and mustard.

Along with the roast beef I got a tasting. They offer three 1/2 oz pours and a small cocktail for $15 CAD. I of course chose the Juiced Up Gin, but I also tried the Juicy Peach Eau de Vie and the Canadian Brrrbon. The cocktail they offered was the SiN Peach Tea, their peach eau de vie mixed with sweet tea.

Next I tried a gin cocktail. I debated just having a gin and tonic, but decided to try their Bees’ Knees, which adds a lavender jasmine syrup to the traditional recipe.

Cocktail in hand, I was ready for some more food, and I am a sucker for game bird. SiN makes a magnificent stuffed Cornish hen which was my favorite dish of the entire vacation. It came with beautiful brussels sprouts and a perfect truffled root puree. There are a lot of reasons I would return to SiN but this dish alone is worth the visit.

Of course, I left with a bottle of gin. I even walked out to the orchard to take my bottle’s picture among the peach trees. On August 10, 2023, I added Juiced Up Gin to The Collection as gin no. 082. I also went home with a bottle of Blue Plum Eau de Vie.

Juiced Up Gin is made from the fallen peaches in SiN’s orchard. They start by making a neutral spirit (read vodka) and then adding their botanicals including juniper, Canadian coriander, lemon, orange, and grains of paradise, and distilling again. Because of the distillation process, all of the peach flavor is removed, but there is some residual sugar from the fruit and a creamier mouthfeel than most other gin. The style is traditional, a London dry. At 40% abv, it is a gentle gin that I enjoyed neat and in the Bees’ Knees.

I adored my visit to Spirit in Niagara. The people there are wonderful, the setting is picturesque, and the food is outstanding. Juiced Up Gin is an exciting gin, made in a very unique way. At $40 CAD, about $30 USD it’s well worth adding to your collection.