Gin might just be the ultimate spring drink: Whiffs of juniper and other evergreens meet fresh floral, herbaceous and fruity notes. Instead of defaulting to sugary tonic, pour a tall glug of citrus-flavoured soda water, or low-calorie sodas (like Fever-Tree’s Sparkling Lime & Yuzu, Sicilian Lemonade or Pink Grapefruit), over an ounce of gin and plenty of ice.
Or experiment with mixing traditional or non-alcoholic gin bottlings with Martini’s excellent non-alcoholic vermouth alternatives, Vibrante (red and Campari-like) and Floreale (straw-coloured and reminiscent of Lillet Blanc), widely available at grocery stores.
Garnish simple and elegant seasonal cocktails with fresh sprigs of mint, thyme, rosemary or even edible violets and other flowers for an Easter, Mother’s Day or any-spring-day refresher.
Consider these eco-friendly gins to honour spring renewal:
They make wonderful gifts or cocktails for toasting on Earth Day, April 22, 2025.
The opaque, botanical-adorned bottle holding Georgian Bay Eco-Friendly Gin (georgianbayspiritco.com) is one secret to its sustainability. The lightweight packaging is Canada’s first lined paper bottle, which is completely recyclable. The gin inside is full of bright citrus flavour, and the Ontario company plants a tree for every bottle sold.
Each year, grey whales make a migration pilgrimage from Mexico to the Arctic, and Gray Whale Gin (graywhalegin.com) celebrates their Pacific journey. A bold American gin with local, sustainably sourced California lime, mint, almonds and sea kelp plus juniper and fir brings a wild journey to your palate. One per cent of sales goes toward California wildlife and nature conservation.
Ramsbury London Dry Gin (ramsbury.com) brings the idea of “single estate” drinks, so common in wine, to the spirits world. Its Wiltshire, UK, farm supplies grain and a farmers’ philosophy of sustainability. Solar power, a biomass boiler, eco-filtration of wastewater and feeding spent grains to livestock are just some of the earth-friendly practices there. See if you can taste a trace of tart, estate-grown quince in this lively gin.
Non-alcoholic or de-alcoholized gins aren’t technically gin because they don’t contain the legal minimum amount of alcohol by volume (abv), but they can successfully bring gin’s signature juniper, citrus and herbal notes when mixed into non-alcoholic cocktails.
Canadian options include Lumette (enjoylumette.com) from Vancouver Island, which comes in Bright Light (with rose, mint and cucumber notes) and London Dry (classic juniper and lemon, with a hint of star anise) formulas. From Calgary, Burwood Distillery’s (burwooddistillery.ca) Non-Alcoholic Gin combines lemongrass, Szechuan pepper, tea and ginger for a fresh, exotic spin on no-alc gin. Sobrii 0-Gin (sobrii.ca) from Ontario features local ginseng along with savoury spices and gin’s traditional juniper and citrus notes.
