Citadelle Rouge Gin

Citadelle Rouge Gin is Maison Ferrand's red-fruit expression of France's definitive craft gin — and despite the name, it is not pink. It pours crystal clear, because nothing is added after distillation: no sugar, no color, no flavoring. Creator Alexandre Gabriel was inspired by the scent of his wife's berry-and-rhubarb jam, a reminder of his grandmother's preserves, and built Rouge as a tribute to the French tradition of distilling fruit. It starts from the full Citadelle recipe — nineteen botanicals including juniper grown on the estate at Chateau de Bonbonnet in Cognac, added one at a time by the house's patented progressive infusion and distilled over naked flame in small copper Cognac pot stills — then adds five fresh fruits: cranberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackcurrant and rhubarb, for twenty-four aromatics in all. Bottled at 41.7% ABV (83.4 proof) in a 700mL bottle. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.

• Proof / ABV: 83.4 proof (41.7% ABV)
• Size: 700mL
• Botanicals: 24 aromatics — the 19-botanical Citadelle recipe plus cranberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackcurrant and rhubarb
• Distillation: Patented progressive infusion, naked-flame copper Cognac pot stills
• Origin: Chateau de Bonbonnet, Ars, Cognac, France — Maison Ferrand

A Berry Gin With Nothing to Hide

Most fruit gins lean on color and sweetening to sell the fruit. Rouge does the opposite: the fruit is distilled, not stirred in afterwards, so what arrives in the glass is a genuine dry gin carrying a vivid red-fruit charge — closer to a classic eau-de-vie tradition than to the pink-gin shelf. The juniper is grown steps from the stills at Bonbonnet, the only gin distillery in the world growing its own juniper, and the base spirit is distilled from wheat. Compare it with the Original and Jardin d'Ete bottlings in our gin collection.

Tasting Notes

A red-fruit bomb with structure: cranberry and blackcurrant lead, raspberry and blueberry round out the middle, and the rhubarb's tang keeps everything dry and lifted, with juniper, violet and coriander spice underneath and a clean citrus-rind finish. Natural fruit sweetness only — nothing sugary or artificial.

How to Enjoy

Build a gin and tonic garnished with red fruit, shake an amped-up Clover Club or a Bramble, or pour it into a tangy sour. More French and flavored bottlings live across our spirits shelves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Citadelle Rouge pink?
No. Despite the name, Rouge is crystal clear — the red fruit is distilled into the gin, and no color, sugar or flavoring is added after distillation. The red is in the taste, not the color.

What fruits are in it?
Five fresh fruits layered over the nineteen-botanical Citadelle Original recipe: cranberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackcurrant and rhubarb — twenty-four aromatics in total.

How strong is it, and what size is the bottle?
41.7% ABV (83.4 proof), in a 700mL bottle, distilled at Chateau de Bonbonnet in Cognac, France.

Find Citadelle Rouge at Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA — the pink-gin idea, rebuilt the French way.