Saffron Gin review & recipes

Saffron Gin comes from a respected French distillery called Gabriel Boudier. Based in Dijon, France, they’ve been around since 1874. Gabriel Boudier distillery is one of the pioneers of French fruit liqueurs, owned by the Boudiers, continuing the family tradition of making great crème de fruits. So even though Saffron Gin is surely a great conversation starter because of its orange colour, it is no party trick or a gimmick. You can take this spiced character seriously when talking about quality gin.

Saffron Gin was a concept by Chairman of Gabriel Boudier, Jean Battault. It was launched in 2008. It has been hand crafted in Dijon and produced in small batches in a traditional pot still. Gabriel Boudier distillery uses nine fresh botanicals for this gin: juniper, coriander, lemon, orange peel, angelica seeds, iris, fennel and saffron, which is the most expensive spice in the world by the way.

Saffron Gin – spicy and sophisticated

When trying Saffron Gin neat, it tastes very groovy. Adventurous, spicy, yet mellow character with a stingy kick in the aftertaste. Even though adventurous, I still prefer it with tonic water (or in some other cocktail). I think that in a cocktail this spicy gin gets to the right environment. Saffron Gin goes very well with Fever Tree tonic water. I tried it with cranberries but that doesn’t work. So I have to try it with other recipes, for example using orange slices as garnish should go well with Saffron Gin & Tonic. Many bartenders like to use Saffron Gin as an ingredient for Collins drink as well.

Nose: Juniper and coriander stand out the most – after all, this is a classic gin. Botanicals, citrus and spices, but the saffron notes are quite hidden.

Taste: Saffron Gin offers a classic gin taste with some spicy character. Not the spiciest gin you’ll ever experience but the effect of saffron is evident. Quite smooth and buttery with warming spices, nothing amazing nor disappointing.

Finish: Saffron appears in a lingering way, while all the other botanicals have left the show.

Overall this is quite ordinary gin – the wee spicy character adds something new to the mix, especially when making a cocktail.

Scoring

8 Decent stuff when tasting neat, great for cocktails

Try these cocktails

SAFFRON RISING

4 cl of Saffron gin
1 cl of triple sec
1 cl of citronelli
2 cl of lemon juice
2 doses of cane sugar
Few drops of orange bitters
Mix it all in a shaker and serve from a cooled glass

RED GIN

4 cl Saffron Gin
2 cl raspberry liqueur 18% ABV
1 cl of lime juice
Sparkling water
Mix the gin, raspberry liqueur and lemon juice in a blender. Serve in a tall glass and lie down with sparkling water and ice.