Monkey 47 isn’t afraid to go where no gin company has gone before. That much is clear with the release of the ultra-premium dry gin producer’s new Distiller’s Cut No. 14, a yearly special-edition launch spruced up with an often mind-boggling, highly unusual botanical (or “species rara”).
There are indeed 47 botanicals in Monkey 47 gin. Its regular ingredients include more traditional offerings like juniper along with lavender, spruce and cloves, providing a springboard of sorts for experimentation. But its latest “secret ingredient” is enough to warrant a double-take: capers.
Normally found on pizza and pasta, nutty and salty capers are now at the heart of this limited-edition gin, which was released earlier this month. During a springtime visit to Germany, we previewed the innovative approach to this year’s Distiller’s Cut and discovered how the spirit was inspired by the surrounding Black Forest.
The History of Monkey 47
The Monkey 47 story begins with Royal Air Force Wing Commander Montgomery “Monty” Collins, who settled in the Black Forest after World War II and later served his version of a Schwarzwald Dry Gin at his guesthouse through the 1970s. Former telecommunications executive Alexander Stein stumbled upon that saga (and the long-lost recipe) in 2006, founded Monkey 47 in 2010 and later sold it to Pernod Ricard in 2016.
To be clear, Monkey 47 is not a traditional London dry gin (like Beefeater or Tanqueray), but it’s a favorite that bartenders — and gin enthusiasts — trust to be curiously different. “We always pride ourselves on saying we are an eau de vie that happens to be a gin,” says Monkey 47 Global Brand Ambassador Julian Langestraat. That difference with other gin brands is best exemplified by the annual Distiller’s Cut release. Past editions have also focused on “secret” ingredients, like maple syrup.
“We’re trying to seek a botanical that will symphonize with the flavors we have but won’t overpower it,” Langestraat says. “That’s how it comes to life.”
How Capers and Gin Came Together
How does one end up with a gin featuring a botanical as distinct as capers? To get the answer, you have to go into the mind of founder Alexander Stein. “It’s in his brain,” Langestraat says. “I compare [the approach] to an onion: it’s got multiple layers, Monkey 47 itself. You’re able to peel each one off.” Inspiration for each new edition hails from Stein’s travels across the globe.
This year’s exploration led Monkey 47 far afield to the nine-mile-long volcanic island of Pantelleria, a region off the “toe” of Italy that is practically overgrown with lush caper bushes. Working with family-owned farm La Nicchia di Pantelleria, its capers are salted twice and matured before being rinsed and then added to the gin macerate. The capers boast a rich, nutty flavor that adds salinity and a touch of sweet spice to the Monkey 47 flavor profile.
“We realized that capers can be more than just a garnish for a tried-and-tested pasta recipe,” Stein says. “Monkey 47 Distiller’s Cut Edition 14 offers a remarkable flavor experience — and not only for those who want to think themselves away onto that small volcanic island in the Mediterranean.”
As uncanny as it might be, the use of capers in Monkey 47 gin just makes sense, at least when given a firsthand look behind the scenes.
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Exploring the Monkey 47 compound — which is tucked away among rolling hills and sprawling forests straight out of a Brothers Grimm story — calls to mind a fairytale of its own. There’s a working distillery, of course, efficient in size and housed in a stone structure that looks like an old barn. It feels homey and pleasant rather than intimidating. When our trek into the woods proved to be a bit too far on foot, a vintage Land Rover offered a topsy-turvy ride to and from the distillery.
Not to be missed is an impossibly quaint cottage that houses a whimsical bar and a host of Monkey 47 oddities. One room filled with beakers and test tubes showcases experimental gin offerings on shelves in clear jars, like the workshop of a mad spirits scientist. There’s even a Big Mac-inspired gin distillate (yes, like the McDonald’s burger).
Langestraat recommends sipping this year’s Distiller’s Cut neat before adding a small amount of water to unlock its flavor and aroma, noting it would also make a standout Gibson Martini. Is there also a touch of Mediterranean sea air in each taste of this year’s release? Perhaps, but Monkey 47’s DNA is enmeshed with the landlocked Black Forest region, an area with more than 20,000 micro-distilleries. The producer is quite serious about working with local producers to source botanicals both more common (like mint) and more obscure.
If you can get your hands on a bottle, you’ll find it’s housed in a sturdy gift box and billed as a collectible by the distillery. A new green-toned label nods to the use of capers, and the brand’s decorative monkey-festooned wallpaper is part of its special-edition packaging.
But as complex and boundary-pushing as Monkey 47’s recipes can be, the company ultimately wants to make gin accessible to spirits lovers who might not have given the category a try. And the distillery aims to go beyond typical infusions you might find in mass-market gin. Where might that lead now that they’ve used something as audacious as capers?
“We try to look for something cool and not very obvious,” Langestraat says. But he’s not about to give anything away. “I would find that very hard to answer now.”
You can pre-order Monkey 47 Distiller’s Cut 14th Edition here.
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