Legend Distilling Black Moon Gin (40%)
#TariffTimes are crazy, aren’t they? First they’re on, then we get a one month reprieve, then liquor boards across Canada remove all U.S. products from their shelves, then we might be getting another reprieve, and then…well, who knows!?!
Me? I just go on reviewing mostly Canadian products, like this old favourite from the pages of Canadian Spirits.
Way back in 2018, when Christine Sismondo and I were planning the research for our 2019 book, Canadian Spirits; The Essential Cross-Country Guide to Distilleries, Their Spirits, and Where to Imbibe Them, the province of British Columbia fell within my purview. This was no small task, since then as now, Canada’s westernmost province accounted for about one-third of the nation’s distilleries.
So off I went, touring the interior first, then Vancouver Island, and finally the lower mainland and Fraser Valley. To say that I came away much impressed by what I saw and tasted is to put it extremely mildly.
There were, however, a few distilleries and bottlings that made a greater impression than did others. I can easily call to mind flavour memories of the Bruinwood Estate Advocaat and Okanagan Spirits Laird of Fintry Single Malt, Dragon Mist’s Baijiu and Sheringham’s Akvavit, and Legend Distilling’s Black Moon Gin.
Legend was then a husband and wife operation based in Naramata, perched on a ridge overlooking Okanagan Lake. It was, quite simply, one of the most picturesque distilleries in the country. One thing apparently led to another, however, and in 2024 Doug and Dawn Lennie sold their operation to Heritage Acres Distilling, a younger distilling company also owned by a husband and wife team, Chris and Jennifer Noske.
Rather than maintain the Naramara facility, the Noske's consolidated operations at their distillery in Abbotsford, BC. Thankfully, though, the Noskes have maintained Legend’s Black Moon Gin, even retaining the original 500 ml, medical flask-style bottle for it.
What distinguished Black Moon from other gins is immediately in evidence the moment a drop is poured, as the perfume of smoked rosemary bursts from the glass in a positively delightful fashion. Alongside that aroma, or perhaps more accurately just in behind it, is sage, juniper, and a difficult-to-define fruitiness, perhaps peach pit or the lightest touch of gooseberry.
The smoke of the rosemary also manifests in the flavour of the gin, but in an almost purely retro-olfactory fashion – plug your nose and the smoke disappears, unplug it and the smoke returns. But this is hardly a one-trick spirit, with ample juniper on both the palate entry and mid-palate, and non-rosemary herbal notes appearing just before the bone dry and gently peppery finish.
In Canadian Spirits, I described Black Moon as a “sensational campfire gin,” and while I still believe that to be the case, I see no need to wait until summer to enjoy a gin as delightful as it is unusual. It also, I discovered to my surprise, makes a rather spectacular gin and tonic!
85 ($35/500 ml)