![]() The palate finds a better sense of balance, but it remains heavy with floral notes. ![]() It’s a bit much to kick things off, bordering on soapy (a note I coincidentally commented on in the recent Midsummer Solstice bottling). The nose is actually quite floral, full up with notes of roses, buttercups, and honeysuckle, giving the gin a heavily perfumed attack. That aside, let’s see how it stands up to other Hendrick’s releases. Of special note, I have not found any authoritative source that lists the actual botanicals used in this bottling. ![]() The label coloring is a sophisticated, deep blue reflective of the night sky and includes curious celestial imagery that conjures a feeling of imbibing under a moonlit sky. ![]() Launching in January 2021 throughout the U.S., the new Lunar bottle retains the distinctive Hendrick’s shape, evocative of Victorian apothecary jars. It was one particular evening, tending to her hothouses in the still of night, when she was inspired to bottle the cosmic sensation of being at peace with nature under the moon and stars – thus creating this unconventional gin. Lesley Gracie, who firmly believes that the botanicals she cultivates in her two distillery hothouses take on entirely different sensory characteristics under the influence of moonlight. Not surprisingly, another advocate for the powers of moonlight is Hendrick’s Master Distiller, Ms. “Yet instead of baking under the harsh light of the sun with barely any clothes on, one can dress stylishly below the moonlight, which supports celestial contemplation and many claim provides the ideal ambiance for rejuvenation and a renewal of the mind and body.” “An activity practiced by esteemed members of Hendrick’s Gin Palace in Girvan, Scotland, moonbathing is the polar, or rather the lunar, opposite of sunbathing,” explains Henderson. To honor the momentous occasion, Hendrick’s is inviting cocktail connoisseurs and star gazers alike to enjoy what is “quite likely the world’s first Lunar gin” as part of a moonbathing ritual to embrace the New Year and leave behind the old. Instilled with botanicals that flourish below the light of the moon, Hendrick’s Lunar Gin was released in the States on January 28, when the first full moon of the new year occurs. Happy Chinese New Year, and may the year of the rabbit (or cat, if you identify with the Vietnamese culture) be kind to us all.The latest special edition gin from Hendrick’s is Lunar, launched in January to celebrate the lunar new year - the Year of the Ox - as well as the night, seeing as it is “infused with natural oils of the night.” So today, in keeping with the traditions instilled in me as a child, I am dressed in red to usher in good fortune for the year ahead! That even if we travel far from home and assimilate into new cultures, there are things we take with us, whether we like it or not, whether we realise it or not some things stay with us. I suppose this is the heritage we take with us. And yet somewhat contradictorily, being away from home at this time makes me more homesick than at any other time of the year. Looking back, I did not always willingly join in celebrations when I was back home either, and I don’t feel the urge to be back home for CNY. Living in Sweden, there are no CNY festivities around me, nor do I make much effort to celebrate. The lunar new year is probably the more inclusive term but where I come from it’s the Chinese New Year or CNY, so it will probably always be for me. The Chinese New Year somehow has more significance for me than the Gregorian new year. This may surprise many who know me, sometimes it surprises even myself.
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