The esteemed house of Cognac Ferrand and proprietor Alexandre Gabriel introduce the new packaging for their award-winning Citadelle Gin. The new blue fluted bottle with copper accents, inspired by vintage blue siphon seltzer bottles, debuts globally. In the U.S. it is expected on shelves in early 2014.
“Citadelle Gin has such an interesting history that we wanted to make sure the story came through on the bottle,” says Alexandre Gabriel, proprietor of Cognac Ferrand and creator/producer of Citadelle. “After Cognac, gin is my passion and this gin makes the pot stills sing long after Cognac distillation is finished. We thought that the bottle and the description of our craft ON the bottle should be as beautiful as the craft INSIDE the bottle.”
The new bottle tells the Citadelle gin story in visual cues:
COPPER ACCENTS and the COPPER POT STILL refer to the pot stills used to distill Citadelle. Citadelle is the only gin distilled in small, Charentais copper pot stills, the same ones used to make the company’s famed Pierre Ferrand Cognac.
“DISTILLED WITH TIME” means that it takes time to make Citadelle: distilled one small batch at a time (not column distillation), allowing the master distiller to precisely cut the ‘heads’ and ‘tails’ and only keeping the precious, flavorful ‘heart.’ This costly gin distillation method imparts a smooth and creamy texture only found in spirits distilled this way. In addition, Citadelle uses a cold infusion process to infuse each botanical into the gin which takes a week’s time.
“NAKED FLAME DISTILLATION” denotes that Citadelle is distilled in these Cognac pot stills over a NAKED flame, making it the only gin that uses this technique. Distilling gin on an open flame requires a deft touch and far more attention than a column still or steam distillation which is otherwise used. The naked flame concentrates flavors and releases more essential oils giving Citadelle a creamier texture and bigger mouthful.
1775 DISTILLERIE ROYALE pays tribute to Alexandre Gabriel’s years of research in dusty 18th century archives which brought to light that the first patented French Genièvrerie was established in 1775 by decree of King Louis XVI. Forgotten for hundreds of years, Gabriel’s exploration uncovered Citadelle’s original recipe.
IMAGES OF THE 19 BOTANICALS that are infused in Citadelle encircle the foot of the bottle. Citadelle is the only gin infused with this combination of botanicals, which enhance the juniper and create one of the most sophisticated, juniper-forward London Dry Gins available today.
Citadelle Gin is made in small batches infused with 19 select botanicals and is the only gin in the world distilled in small, Charentais copper pot stills over an open flame. Citadelle Gin is elegant, soft and smooth on the palate, with a long finish that expresses its aromatic complexity to the fullest. At 44% alcohol by volume (88 proof), Citadelle achieves the perfect balance between intensity and finesse. Its taste has won many awards including: Grand Gin Master 2012 by The Spirit Business, Double Gold Medal at the 2012 San Francisco Spirits Competition and Gold Medal at the 2012 International Wine & Spirits Competition, to name a few. The suggested retail price is $24.99/750ml and $31.99/1 liter.
