gin no. 101 – Blue Shepherd Gin – Concord Culinary Lyceum

Blue Shepherd is a small, family-run distillery on the edge of Shenandoah National Park in Luray, VA.
The distiller doesn’t really like gin, so he dialed back the juniper and ramped up the citrus.
I purchased Batch 9, Bottle 47 at the distillery on August 8, 2024.

Luray, Virginia is a tiny town with less than 5,000 people. Blue Shepherd is a tiny distillery making just about 150 proof gallons of spirits each year. Despite their small size, they make a large variety of spirits: vodka, agave, rum, a couple of whiskeys, and gin. The distillery sits on the edge of Shenandoah National Park, less than a mile from the famous Luray Caverns.

Blue Shepherd uses local corn to make their gin. Because the distiller isn’t a gin lover, he decided to make a New World style gin, light on the juniper. In fact it says right on the bottle “Dogs dont like eating pine trees” Botanicals instead focus on red peppercorn, elderberry, and lots of citrus. The peppercorn causes the gin to have a spicy finish despite its 40% ABV.

We visited the distillery on August 8, 2024 as a hurricane poured down outside. The family who runs it was incredibly welcoming. There was a beautiful shepherd walking around greeting patrons and begging for french fries. There was a food truck parked right out in front which sold the fries, but they were way too good to share with the dog.

Virginia has some strict laws around liquor that limit how much you can drink in a distillery, but in addition to tasting the gin, I was able to order Digging Holes. It is made with gin, lemon, sweet vermouth, bitters, and tonic. We also bought a half bottle of Experimental Dog Days of Summer Rum.

Gin no 101 wasn’t cheap. Batch 9, Bottle 47 cost us $51.74. The gin is good and the blue shepherd bottle stopper is cool, but that’s too much for this. Still, if I am ever near Luray again or even kind of near it, I wouldn’t pass up the chance to pass another afternoon at Blue Shepherd Distillery.