Avadis Distillery, Wincheringen, Saar Valley, Germany

Ferdinand’s Saar Dry Gin

Avadis Distillery GmbH

Ferdinand’s Saar Dry Gin is the rare bottle whose catalyst is literally an ingredient no one else has thought to add. The Riesling infusion does not make this a wine-flavored gin — it is subtler and more structural than that. The wine contributes acidity, a floral lift, and a mineral backbone that unifies over thirty disparate botanicals into a coherent whole. Juniper leads as it should, but the Riesling gives the gin a vinous complexity that makes it equally compelling neat, in a Martini, or in a G&T. At under forty-five dollars, Ferdinand’s offers something unlike anything else on the gin shelf — and that novelty is backed by impeccable distilling craft.