What I love about Juno is that the big and botanical structure of the gin can hold its own flavour with tonic and in cocktails, however it is equally drinkable as a sipping gin on the rocks.

Jess Old - GIN SOCIETY EXPERT

Begin Distillery

JUNO GIN

🇳🇿 New Zealand

JUNO GIN is currently out of stock and unavailable for purchase.

A classic London dry style gin, with subtle notes of pine, eucalyptus and juniper, almost slightly soapy, but leaves you wanting more.

Juno is the ancient Roman goddess of love and marriage. It’s also the fitting name of Gin Society’s featured gin this month, which was created by Jo and Dave James. Partners in business and life, they’ve been married for 35 years. Led by David’s passion for engineering and Jo’s love of gin, they decided to establish a distillery.

They built out the flavour profile with orange, black peppercorns, Angelica root, kaffir lime leaves, green cardamom, Manuka and cassia bark, and water from nearby Mount Taranaki.

Many high-quality, locally sourced botanicals are used to make Juno, and there is plenty of other small details that go into the final product. Jo and Dave have even added their initials to the label in the form of a heart engraved into the tree in the “O” of Juno.

Describing Juno Extra Fine Gin as “juniper-led, aromatic, with a beautiful citrus sparkle to it and some peppery heat at the finish”, Jo says it’s a versatile London-style dry gin that drinks well in a martini (or dirty martini), on the rocks (how Dave, a whisky lover, enjoys it with a dash of water) and in a G&T.

Juno Extra Fin Gin was a Silver Medal winner in the Best Gin category of the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

GIN SOCIETY TASTING NOTES

Juno Extra Fine Gin certainly lives up to its name.

Using fresh mountain water from Mount Taranaki, which towers over the distillery, you can feel its artisan quality when you take your first sip. Smooth, light and pure in texture means I'm instantly going back for a second.

Juniper is first and forefront on both the nose and at first taste, however this blends almost instantly into clear citrus notes of fresh lemon peel. With a spice kick from the coriander and pepper lingering on the middle of the palate, the blend of flavours is robust, complex and delicate – which is no small feat! I appreciate the lingering quality of the other base botanicals, with Manuka and cardamom both deserving a special mention as they come through beautifully at the front of the palate.

What I love about Juno is that the big and botanical structure of the gin can hold its own flavour with tonic and in cocktails, however it is equally drinkable as a sipping gin on the rocks. The balance of delicate, local botanicals with a heavy citrus and juniper character is unique and completely delicious. It is thoughtfully made, with taste and texture complementing each other perfectly.

Check out the recipe for our cocktail Mount Juno Martini concocted by Jess exclusively for the Gin Society to suit the unique botanicals of Juno Gin.

by
jess old
Gin Society Expert

FLAVOUR PROFILE

JUNIPER

CITRUS

FLORAL

HEAT

HERBAL

SPICE

PUBLISHED TASTING NOTES

MINDFOOD MAGAZINE

Juno Extra Fine Gin has Juniper at its heart with coriander bringing warmth and a hint of lemon. Other key botanicals include Orris Root, Kaffir Lime leaves, Green Cardamom, Angelica Root, Manuka and Cassia Bark. Juno source almost all of their botanicals locally with their Orris Root coming from Hawkes’s Bay, Coriander seeds from the Wairarapa, limes from the East Coast and citrus from Taranaki.

COCKTAIL RECIPE

Gin Society Expert Jess Old of Itch Wine Bar of New Plymouth, NZ, shares her favourite cocktail recipe to make with Juno Gin.

MOUNT JUNO MARTINI

Chill serving glass with ice.

Pour Rinquinquin, Juno Extra Fine Gin and Oscar 697 into mixing glass and stir.

Once your drink is arctic cold and well balanced, single-strain into chilled glass (dump the ice). Garnish with dehydrated lime wheel and rosebud.

30mL Rinquinquin (a type of peach liquor)
30mL Juno Extra Fine Gin
30mL Oscar 697 Bianco Vermouth (or an alternative aromatic, bianco vermouth of your choosing)

Dehydrated lime wheel and rosebud to garnish