Seersucker is a new gin from Azar Distilling in San Antonio, and it uses the seersucker pattern as its touchstone because it is “synonymous with the warm and inviting nature of Southern hospitality.”

There’s no detail on the distillation process aside from that it is pot distilled. Botanicals run to six/seven, including some unusual ingredients: citrus peel (lemon and orange), coriander seed, juniper, cardamom, clove honey, and mint.

And, probably like you, I spent some time trying to figure out what “clove honey” is. It’s not a typo for “clover honey.” Rather, per Seersucker: “Clove honey is honey made from bees who get the nectar from clove flowers. Clove has a spice to it and adds some balance to the sweetness of the honey. So it gives us a little sweet and spicy note that other honey just doesn’t offer.”

Let’s give this Southern spin on gin a spin.

While perhaps not particularly “Southern” at first blush, Seersucker comes across as distinctly New World/Western in style, with a juniper-restrained nose of black pepper, orange peel, and a hint of that mint. The cloves are more present on the palate, as is the mint again, which here comes into more focus with a distinctly spearmint character. While initially slightly sweet from the honey element and the mint, the juniper and coriander give the gin a sultry back end, slightly smoldering like fireplace embers. While mint always connotes juleps, it is perhaps this lightly smoky finish that is the most “southern” thing about Seersucker… aside from the label, of course.

84 proof.

B+ / $21 / seersuckergin.com

Seersucker Southern Style Gin

$21

8.5

Rating

8.5/10