Citrus Gin – Panama Papers

Citris Gin by Panama Papers, pure citrus from the Kaiserstuhl

The Citris Gin from Faude feine Brände is a German gin, distilled for the bartenders of Panama Papers. Each bottle contains 100g of sun-ripened citrus fruits – lemony, spicy, fresh; a gin for the cocktail menu, not for the shelf.

Citris Gin is a citrus-forward gin, distilled by master distiller Florian Faude in the Kaiserstuhl region for the bar brand Panama Papers. Sicilian and Calabrian citrus fruits meet juniper and a total of 10 botanicals. Its name plays on "citrus," the botanical genus of lemon, bergamot, and more.

Lemon peel, juniper, and a hint of pine

Even from the bottle, an intense citrus scent flows from the Citris Gin, accompanied by lemon peel, bergamot, and a resinous trace of pine.

On the palate, the gin is mild yet complex – juniper and clove, cedarwood, and lime leaf stand out. Lemongrass, lime, and orange lead into a long finish, where fine cassia bark and a hint of elderflower linger. 10 botanicals, finely balanced, without a single artificial aroma.

Mild, complex, citrus-bright – that is how the gin plays on the tongue, without the juniper overwhelming the fruit. This is exactly the balance its creators were looking for when they conceived it.

As a Gin & Tonic with lemon and rosemary

Whether neat over ice or as a Gin & Tonic, Citris Gin brings summer into the glass all year round.

For a Gin & Tonic, pour 4 cl over plenty of ice, fill with a neutral tonic, and add a lemon zest – this citrus gin needs no intrusive companion. Those who prefer berry over citrus should try the Rubus Gin from Panama Papers with raspberry, and those looking for the pure citrus note will find it in the Bergamot Spirit from Calabria.

By the way: If you chill the gin, it may cloud slightly – that is caused by the essential oils, a perfectly natural process.

Two bartenders, one distiller, one gin

Citris Gin was developed in 2016 by bartenders Alexander Mayer and Leopold Langer with Florian Faude – a gin by bartenders for the bar.

Alexander mixes at the One Trick Pony in Freiburg, Leopold runs the Schwarz Weiß Bar in Ludwigsburg; fruity gins had long existed, but none tasted natural enough to them. Florian, known in the Kaiserstuhl for his spirit of experimentation, was the third in the group. The citrus fruits come from a farmer friend in Southern Italy; the elderflowers grow right in front of Florian's doorstep.

Florian took over his parents' distillery in Bötzingen in 2006 and built his own distillery in 2017, where this gin is also produced today. It is bottled in the classic 0.5-liter bottle. For the citrus base, Florian processes cedro lemons, bergamots, and blood oranges from Sicilian and Calabrian farmers – only fully ripe fruits, selected by hand.

"Every distillate begins on the tree, on the shrub, or in the field – if you put something decent in, you get something decent out," says Florian. It is precisely this attitude you can taste in the Citris Gin. You can find more spirits from Faude feine Brände from the Kaiserstuhl here.

In a one-to-three ratio with good tonic

Ice-cold as a Gin & Tonic with a slice of lemon, the Citris Gin shows to its best advantage, ideally in a 1:3 ratio with good tonic and a sprig of rosemary for the tart note. Stored cool and dark after opening, it remains aromatic for many months. A gin that tastes like the south.