Gin Crispa Distillerie Birdie

The Gin Crispa from Distillerie Birdie is a captivating spirit that delivers on its promise of a world tour in a few sips, from the Canadian boreal forests to the Congolese jungles, passing through the verdant plains of Vietnam. Silver medallist at the World Gin Awards 2025, this contemporary gin made in the Hauts-de-France embodies the house philosophy perfectly: French terroir as foundation, world flavours as horizon.

Botanicals and production

Crispa is made from French wheat neutral spirit produced in Picardy, a clean and precise base on which seven carefully selected botanicals express themselves. Verbena berry and yellow citrus zest form the opening duo: fresh, lively and citric, they immediately establish the herbal and luminous register of the cuvée. Canadian dune berry, a rare fruit from the boreal zones of North America with mentholated and resinous notes, brings subtle vegetal sweetness that balances citrus acidity. Likouala pepper, harvested in the Congolese jungles, is the spiced and woody heart of the recipe, with aniseed and mentholated notes reminiscent of thyme and fennel. Vietnamese tonka bean brings a final roundness and enveloping softness evoking vanilla and caramel. Coriander and cardamom complete this assembly with their spiced and floral notes. The maceration of all botanicals lasts 24 hours in neutral spirit, before a single One Shot distillation in a DES alembic, a process guaranteeing absolute aromatic integration and coherence. Botanicals are sourced largely from Terre Exotique, the benchmark for quality spices and botanicals.

Tasting profile

The colour is crystalline, limpid and bright. The nose is immediately fresh and vivid: verbena berry and yellow citrus zest assert themselves brilliantly, accompanied by delicate resinous notes, juniper, fresh aromatic herbs and a subtle light smoke. With aeration, the dune berry brings its mentholated boreal sweetness, and tonka bean begins to emerge in the background with discreet enveloping vanilla. On the palate, the texture is soft, round and silky, with a fresh citric attack that quickly gives way to the spiced and woody flavours of Likouala pepper. Coriander and cardamom add complexity and relief, while tonka bean closes the tasting on a long, fresh, resinous finish with delicate vanilla notes of remarkable persistence and harmony.

The distillery

Distillerie Birdie, known as Spirit Factory, was founded in late 2019 in Saint-André-lez-Lille, in the Hauts-de-France, the historic cradle of genever. Founded by two passionate travellers and spirits enthusiasts, it produces a range of atypical contemporary gins that bridge French terroir and world flavours. Far from classic London Dry, Birdie gins stand out as original and precise creations, each cuvée the fruit of a carefully imagined and constructed flavour journey.

Tasting and serving

Gin Crispa is best enjoyed in a Gin Tonic with quality dry premium tonic, several large ice cubes, a yellow citrus zest and a sprig of fresh verbena. Neat on ice, it will reveal the fullness of its botanicals with immediate freshness and complexity. In cocktails, it works beautifully in a spring Tom Collins, a citric Gimlet or a verbena Clover Club. As an aperitif, it pairs elegantly with fresh herb nibbles, tartines of fresh cheese with lemon or slices of gravlax salmon.