Procera Blue Dot Gin

THE DISTILLERY: PROCERAProcera is a Kenyan gin built on a simple, ambitious premise: put the whole of Africa in the glass rather than looking to Europe. Distilled in Nairobi at 1,638 metres above sea level — among the highest-altitude gin production anywhere — it centres on Juniperus Procera, a wild juniper native to the East African highlands, hand-harvested from the forests around Kijabe and never before used in gin at this scale.That juniper gives the gin its name, and its ethos: for every bottle sold, Procera plants additional juniper trees, tying its success directly to the forest's health. The packaging carries the same handmade philosophy — each bottle mouth-blown from recycled glass, stoppered with a single piece of carved palm wood, no two quite alike. THE GIN: BLUE DOTBlue Dot is Procera's founding expression, distilled from Kenyan sugar cane grown near Lake Victoria. Eleven botanicals are drawn from across the continent — Moroccan coriander and orris root, Somali acacia honey, Madagascan pink pepper, Nigerian Selim pepper, Zanzibari cardamom and mace, Kenyan green tea, and two African citrus varieties, Swahili orange and Pixie tangerine.It's an ambitious botanical bill, but the wild juniper holds the centre throughout, with the rest adding warmth, spice and lift rather than competing. Bottled at 44%, it has the structure to be sipped neat, where its complexity shows best. TASTING NOTESNose: Juniper-forward and resinous, pine and forest florals leading, with cardamom, lemon peel and a quiet honeyed warmth underneath.Palate: Full and layered — pink peppercorn builds through the mid-palate against earthy juniper and bright tangerine, a thread of honey keeping the spice in check.Finish: Long, warm, and peppery, the resinous juniper lingering last.Serve: A very dry Martini suits this best — just a rinse of vermouth. In a G&T, keep the garnish simple, a citrus twist, so the juniper stays the star.