The taste of juniper brings to mind a pine forest, which is one reason some people don’t like gin, and don’t drink it.
Legally, juniper berries are required to be present and perceptible, in order for a spirit to be called gin. A new Atlanta distillery has set out to make gin for both the people who love the spirit and those who think they don’t like it.
With a portfolio of two expressions, Murrell’s Row Spirits was formed in 2015 by three native Atlantans who have been part of the city’s drinks scene for many years. Bo Brown and Ferrol Lee Mayfield created the first cocktail program at Decatur’s Brick Store Pub and spent more than a decade there, and Nathan Evick, who has a career in sales in the financial industry, is a friend.
In order to try and make an exceptional gin, “we just buckled down and really started learning and soaking up as much knowledge as we could,“ Mayfield said. “We started traveling, reading, experimenting.”
The self-described “booze nerds” went to renowned cocktail bars and distilleries across the country, and developed recipes over several years, through trial and error. “We wanted to make a London-dry and a botanical New World gin,” Mayfield said. “When we finally got what we were looking for in a recipe, the pandemic hit.”
It would be a couple of years before the public could taste their Gin Gin and Tulsi gin, but this gave the trio time to find a home base and the still that they wanted. They also kept busy with legal paperwork, licensing and zoning.
A lot of the spirit line’s successful launch was due to kismet. A Brick Store regular had a space that used to be a candle factory and already had floor drains and loading docks.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
And, the dream was to get a pricey, high-quality Arnold Holstein copper pot still — an arduous procurement process. The dream became a reality after a chance ride-share encounter with a master distiller who had one to sell.
“Once we got our paperwork (in fall 2022), we were allowed to distill and sell, and we were ready to rock ’n’ roll,” Mayfield said.
The partners ordered bottles a bartender would like to pour, and finalized the gorgeous labels, featuring a Japanese woodblock vibe in a vivid color palette.
Both Gin Gin and Tulsi are made with 100% grain-neutral spirit and bottled at 94 proof. “That’s just a great cocktail proof in my opinion, a good mixing proof that makes a good martini,” Mayfield said.
Tulsi, inspired by the team’s love of tea made with the aromatic herb related to mint, took the better part of a decade for the team to perfect. The herb, also called holy basil, has been worshipped, traded and used in cooking and teas for thousands of years. The flowers are grown and dried for Murrell’s at Love Is Love Farm in Atlanta and Gentle Harmony in South Carolina.
Tulsi is distilled separately, in order to control flavor and aroma, and blended into gin for the final product, which has complex flavors that don’t back down on juniper, but let others shine through. It’s beautifully fragrant, with mellow spice, floral notes, undertones of green cardamom (from Spicewalla), brightness from citrus, and a long finish. Understanding a gin gives you hints on how to enjoy it, and this one is great served alone, in order to taste those peppery floral notes.
Gin Gin is juniper-forward, multifaceted and London dry-style, with a harmonious balance of botanicals (sourced from Spicewalla) that make it good for sipping. Heady citrus and strong juniper are balanced with the sweet and savory leafiness of celery, plus hints of earthy angelica.
Murrell’s Row, named for a saloon-heavy area of Atlanta in the 1800s (about where Five Points is today), plans to add other spirits in the future.
Murrell’s Row gins ($27 per 750-milliliter bottle) are widely available in stores, restaurants and bars in metro Atlanta. murrellsrowspirits.com
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