Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin
Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin is the flagship gin of County Wicklow's Glendalough Distillery — an "all-seasons" gin built on 21 to 23 botanicals wild-foraged from the Wicklow mountains and delivered fresh to the still within hours by the distillery's full-time forager, Geraldine Kavanagh. Slow-distilled in small batches of under 250 litres in Arnold Holstein copper pot stills and bottled at 41% ABV in 750mL, it captures a full year of foraging in every bottle. It's available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 41% (bottle label confirms; one US listing shows 40%)
- Size: 750mL (US bottling; 700mL home market)
- Botanicals: 21–23 wild-foraged Wicklow botanicals — juniper, coriander, angelica and orris root, liquorice, fresh organic lemons, elderflower, red clover, yarrow, ox-eye daisy, wild raspberry, blackberry leaves, wild rose, watermint, sweet woodruff, wild angelica, lemon balm, sweet cicely, lady's bedstraw, bell heather
- Distillation: slow-distilled in Arnold Holstein copper pot stills, under 250L per batch, careful cut points
- Distillery: Glendalough Distillery, County Wicklow, Ireland — founded 2011; named for St. Kevin's 6th-century monastic settlement
- Concept: the year-round "all-seasons" flagship, launched after the seasonal gin series at bartenders' request
A Year of Wicklow in Every Bottle
Most gins buy their botanicals dried and bagged; Glendalough sends a forager into the mountains. Geraldine Kavanagh picks across all four seasons — spring flowers, summer berries, autumn fruits, winter spice plants — and the slow distillation in small Holstein stills is deliberately gentle, teasing out delicate flavors with careful cut points. The result is a gin that drinks like its landscape: fresh spring notes, juniper and citrus, "a forest clearing in bloom" on the nose; cool, mellow, nectarous summer flowers with hints of autumn fruit and warm spice on the palate; a long, sylvan finish of warm winter spices. Explore more craft spirits, or shop the Glendalough collection at Del Mesa.
Tasting Notes
Per retailer tasting notes (Fairley's Wines, corroborated by Gin Foundry): nose — fresh spring notes, juniper, citrus, pine. Palate — cool and mellow, nectarous summer flowers, hints of autumn fruits, warm spice. Finish — long and sylvan with warm winter spices.
How to Enjoy
A proper G&T with a light tonic and a lemon twist lets the botanicals show; it also makes a bright, floral martini. Keep it chilled.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Glendalough gin "wild botanical"?
21–23 botanicals are wild-foraged from the Wicklow mountains and delivered fresh to the distillery within hours — not bought dried.
Who forages the botanicals?
Geraldine Kavanagh, the distillery's full-time forager.
What is the ABV?
41% ABV (one US listing shows 40% — the bottle label decides).
Where does the name come from?
The Glendalough valley in County Wicklow — a 6th-century monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin, whose round tower and churches appear on the bottle.
Wicklow's mountains, distilled — get Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin delivered from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.