In a bit of a pickle: cornichon-flavoured gin launches

Maison Ferrand, the boutique French spirits producer, has released a new, experimental gin as part of their “Les Excentriques” collection.

Citadelle Vive le Cornichon is flavoured with the classic Gallic pickle, leaving a salty, vinegary, herbaceous finish to the gin. The cornichons themselves are sourced from Burgundy, and are used to flavour the spirit with Citadelle’s progressive infusion technique, carried out at their distillation facility in north western France.

A gin which invokes the sensation of a Pret A Manger jambon-beurre sandwich may seem somewhat unorthodox, but cornichons are not too dissimilar to olives, which are frequently used as a flavouring to gin martinis. A dirty pickle martini could well sort your briny booze fix at your favourite cocktail bar in years to come.

The supposed origin story of the spirit feels somewhat less logical. Allegedly the distillery’s cat, alias “Little Tom”, was playing with a cornichon at a barbecue and dropped it into a waiting glass of gin & tonic. The team then sampled the cat’s unlikely creation, and found it to be more than palatable.

Though Little Tom had the accidental eureka moment (and made it onto the label), the cornichon concoction is credited to master blender Alexandre Gabriel, and limited to a 3,000 bottle run. Described as a “creator of emotions” on the Maison Ferrand website, Gabriel is a leading figure in the world of Cognac and seeks to revitalise the world of artisanal French spirits.

A gin infused with the essence of one of the country’s great gastronomic contributions is only the first in a series of unusual spirits which will be released under the Citadelle label. It will be available from Harvey Nichols from June for £52.

Pickle-flavoured drinks seem to be an up and coming trend, with Byron Burger releasing a dill pickle beer earlier this month.