It’s been months since spring sprung, but the coronavirus crisis held back many of the season’s usual releases, including Black Button Distilling’s Lilac Gin. But now the Rochester-based distillery is finally releasing their annual small batch spirit.
The Gin will be a limited edition and capped at around 3,500 bottles. Usually the spirit appears in time for Rochester’s annual Lilac Festival, which was set to begin May 8, but the event was postponed and Black Button Distilling switch to making hand sanitizer to combat the spread of COVID-19.
“Most folks don’t realize, but we were able to make hand sanitizer so quickly when the shortage hit because we had just finished making all the ethanol for this year’s Lilac Gin,” said Jason Barrett, Black Button Distilling President and Master Distiller in a statement. In the end, the distillery produced around 70,000 bottles of hand sanitizer.
Black Button’s created the spirit to complement Rochester’s rich festival and floral history. The spirit sports a delicate bouquet of lilac, lavender, rose and hibiscus. The palate features traditional flavors like juniper and coriander, which blend seamlessly with notes of white flowers. The finish is soft with intoxicating floral notes and rose. In order to make this seasonal Gin, each flower petal is steeped, distilled, and recombined to create a light and delicate flavor.
If you’d like to make a cocktail with the Gin, the distillery recommends:
Lilac Bees Knee’s
- 2 oz Lilac Gin
- 1 oz Lemon Juice
- 1/4 oz Honey Syrup
- 3/4 oz Lavender Syrup
Shake with ice and dump into glass
Lilac Iced Teas
- 2 oz Lilac Gin
- 1 oz Unsweetened Iced Tea
- 3/4 oz Rosemary simple syrup
- 1/2 oz Lemon juice
Shake with ice and dump into glass. Top with Sparkling lemonade
Black Button Distillery Lilac Gin is available starting at $20 for a 375ml bottle, and can be purchased at the company’s official online shop.