Bilberry Distilled Gin - Indian British Tea (700 ml)

A gin born from collision: Sikkim Distillery's bilberry expression marries the high-altitude fruit terroir of India's northeastern state with British tea tradition and Catalan distillation craft. The bilberries—harvested from Sikkim's misty slopes above 1,500m, where acidic volcanic soils and cool nights concentrate anthocyanins—anchor a spirit that refuses easy categorization.

Production specifics: Bilberries are macerated with a base spirit before distillation through copper stills, their natural tannins and acidity preserved through careful temperature control. British black tea (likely Darjeeling or Assam character) is integrated post-distillation or via vapor infusion, creating a botanical bridge between fruit and leaf. The spirit is bottled at standard gin strength (likely 40–43% ABV), unaged in wood, allowing the fruit and tea to dominate without oak interference.

The transgression: This is gin that rejects the London Dry template. Rather than juniper-forward abstraction, bilberry and tea create a wine-like aromatic profile—more akin to a fruit liqueur's complexity than a classic gin's botanical geometry. The Himalayan fruit's natural acidity and the tannins from both bilberry skin and tea leaf create structural tension unusual in the category.

Vintage/Drinking: Current release; consume within 2 years of bottling for maximum fruit vibrancy.