Ungava Canadian Gin 43.1% 70cl

Name: Drink Finder
Address: 30 Fore St, Constantine, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 5AB, United Kingdom
Telephone: 01326 340226

Ungava is a place of icy, tranquil beauty where one can see the incredible light display of the aurora borealis in the night sky and be overawed by the sheer immensity of the imposing landscape. The native Inuit people and their forebears have called this land their own for thousands of years and they now dwell in villages along the coast and river deltas where they hunt and forage through the summer in preparation for the long, hard Winter.

Ungava is an unusual yellow Canadian gin made with six botanicals hand foraged from this harsh Arctic wilderness during the brief Summer period. Like all proper gins this one is juniper lead, containing Nordic juniper that grows in among the tundra. Cloudberry is a tart berry that grows in limited numbers and is notoriously difficult to find; natives of the north use this in cooking and to make spirits with. Wild Rose Hips are also used and are an excellent source of vitamin C. The last three botanical are really specialist to the region and you would not of heard of them unless you were a native; Arctic Blend is a creeping evergreen used in teas, Labrador Tea is a flowering bog plant also used in tea and Crowberries are round purple berries that are used in making jams and the like.

The nose is very juniper forward with hints of lemon and an underlying sweetness. There's not much here that would hint at the unique botanicals used to make the gin. The palate is unsurprisingly tart considering the various berries that went into the distillation. After this you are hit with a strong wave of juniper followed by a bit of heat and a long, bitter finish that has pine notes to it. This is very pleasant drinking and we think that, despite some strong influence from the unusual botanicals, would still appeal to fans of the classic London Dry.