Review: Procera Green Dot Gin 2023

The importance of terroir to wine is well known. The distillers at Procera bring the same concept to gin by carefully sourcing the fresh, African juniper berries they use. For the 2023 release of their apparently annual Green Dot Gin, Procera has taken this approach one rather giant step further, sourcing all the juniper berries, along with leaves and some of the wood, from a single tree in Narok County, Kenya. The result is a unique approach to making gin as well as an understandably limited run, with only 2,023 bottles released globally, 672 of which made it to the U.S. As with other Procera gins, the bottle is hand blown and beautiful. Let’s see what this unique approach does for the character of the gin.

Poured in the glass, the gin presents a bold, savory aroma of salty umami, along with gentle pine, and a touch of a hospital note. On the palate, notes of umami and pine are more balanced and are followed by white pepper and light mint, which lasts through the long finish. The hospital note that appeared on the nose is happily absent on the palate. The oily mouthfeel that is a hallmark of Procera gin again makes this a lovely one to sip. For a martini, the folks at Procera recommend putting the gin in the freezer and pouring it undiluted into a glass that has been lightly rinsed with dry vermouth with a lemon twist. I tried this and it makes for a bold, savory, almost burly cocktail — like a Gibson, though I didn’t add a cocktail onion. This is an unusual and expensive gin, but some will love it.

94 proof.

B+ / $180

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