Why the Black Forest produces a particular gin
The Schwarzwald is a mountain forest of fir, spruce, and pine in south-western Germany. Granite and gneiss underlie the aquifers; the water is soft and unminerally. Fir resin, spruce tips, juniper, blackthorn, elderflower, gentian and sloe grow within walking distance of any small distillery. A copper still here has access to a botanical pantry that does not need to be flown in.
This is not romance. It is a specific terroir argument. The Schwarzwald-distilled gin category exists because the inputs and the water are physically here, and because a small number of distillers — Monkey 47 first, then Boar, Schladerer, Wild Brennerei, Bimmerle, Tannenblut — chose to work with the forest rather than against it.
Who built the category
Monkey 47, founded in 2008 by Alexander Stein in Lossburg, is the category-defining bottle. Forty-seven botanicals, Pernod-Ricard acquisition in 2016, global distribution. Without Monkey 47 there is no internationally recognised "Schwarzwald gin" category at all.
Boar Schwarzwald Gin (Bad Peterstal-Griesbach) brought truffle infusion. Schladerer (Staufen) extended the historic fruit-brandy house into gin. Wild Brennerei and Bimmerle filled in the regional shelf with serious craft answers. Each contributed a different idea of what a Schwarzwald gin should taste like.
Tannenblut sits at a different point on the structure: not a continuous production but a closed edition of three thousand individually numbered bottles, copper-distilled once, kosher-certified under rabbinical supervision within the Chabad-Lubavitch tradition. Same forest, different proposition.
The botanicals that define the regional palate
Fir resin and spruce tip carry the forest into the spirit directly — a green, balsamic, slightly camphoraceous note that does not exist in non-Schwarzwald gins at the same intensity. Juniper, of course, is the legal basis of gin. Blackthorn (sloe) is a hedgerow companion that brings a tart, plum-like fruit through long maceration. Elderflower and gentian appear in many Schwarzwald gins as floral and bitter counterweights.
A serious Black Forest gin tastes of where it was made. A pretender tastes of a list.
How to choose a Black Forest gin
Decide first what the gin is for. For everyday drinking at home and for serious cocktails, the answer is almost always Monkey 47 or one of its credible regional peers. The price-quality ratio in this category is exceptional. For a gift that needs to demonstrate connoisseurship at a table, Boar or The Botanist will travel beautifully without overdoing the dramaturgy.
For a closed, numbered, kosher-certified collector object that is meant to be kept or formally presented — family-office allocation, Bar Mitzvah dedication, donor recognition — the Bereshit Series exists in its own niche. It does not compete on the bar table; it competes in the vitrine.
Where Tannenblut Bereshit sits
The Tannenblut Bereshit Series is a closed edition of three thousand individually numbered bottles, distilled in the Black Forest, copper-still, sealed under cellar-master oversight. Each bottle carries an engraved (never printed) number. Each bottle is documented within the Chabad-Lubavitch kosher certification framework. At the apex sits the Rebbe Bottle No. 770, a one-of-one flask priced at € 77,000.
When bottle three thousand is allocated, the series closes. There is no replenishment. This is not a production decision — it is the editorial premise of the project.
Frequently asked
- What makes a gin a "Black Forest gin"?
- A gin produced in the Schwarzwald region of south-western Germany, drawing its botanicals and its water from that specific terroir. The category was internationally established by Monkey 47 from 2008 onward and now includes a number of credible producers.
- Is every Black Forest gin made the same way?
- No. Some are single-shot copper distillations from foraged botanicals; others use industrial column stills with a regional botanical profile. The category is broad; the quality range is wide.
- Is Tannenblut a Black Forest gin?
- Yes. Tannenblut is copper-distilled in the Black Forest from fir resin, spruce tip, wild juniper and blackthorn gathered close to the still. It differs from continuously produced Schwarzwald gins by being a single-run, closed edition of 3,000 numbered bottles.
- Is Black Forest gin always expensive?
- No. The category spans roughly € 20 (Lidl Schwarzwald) to € 77,000 (Tannenblut Rebbe Bottle No. 770). Most credible regional bottles sit in the € 35–60 band.
- Is Tannenblut kosher?
- Yes. The Bereshit Series is produced under rabbinical supervision within the Chabad-Lubavitch tradition. The name of the certifying rabbi is communicated privately to allocated collectors.
If a closed-edition, kosher-certified Black Forest collector bottle is what you are looking for, apply to the Tannenblut collector list. Allocation is by private invitation only.