The goal of the producers was to create a gin where juniper plays an important role, and indeed, it is very clearly felt on both nose and palate. On the nose, juniper is accompanied by floral notes and hints of sweet orange and, if you pay attention, even the spicier notes of cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. On the palate, on the other hand, juniper emerges at first and then gives way to the more aromatic notes of the other botanicals and more citrusy notes, culminating in the dry, spicy finish.

The original recipe for Citadelle Gin dates back to the late 1700s and was developed by Carpeau and Stival at the Citadelle in Dunkirk in what was the exclusive distillery of the King of France for 20 years. Alexandre Gabriel in the late 1980s decided to recreate this gin in the Pierre Ferdinand Cognac distillery in the city of Cognac using a more modern method although similar to the old one and adding botanicals that could not be found in the 1700s. Although the first batch was perfected as early as the late 1980s, due to French bureaucracy it was not until 1995 that permission was given to produce and market Citadelle Gin.

Citadelle Gin is not distilled year-round, but only between March and November, and with a small Charentais still, of those in use since the 1700s. In fact, this gin is among the very few to use an open-flame system, which fell into disuse after the invention of less dangerous methods. Producing this gin is time-consuming, in fact the botanicals remain in infusion for 79 hours before distillation and the open-flame system requires a full day’s work, but this slowness allows the head and tail to be removed very precisely by selecting only the heart of the gin.