*The difference between straight up and neat: “Neat” means an undiluted shot served at room temperature; straight up is shaken or stirred with ice and strained into a glass.

Now, from the same copper pot still, comes Cold River Gin.

A traditional-style gin made from a 400-year-old recipe, Cold River Gin is ultra-smooth and “superpremium.” The gin is distilled with seven traditional botanicals: juniper berries (the dominant flavor of gin), angelica root, cardamom, coriander, lemon peel, orange peel and orris root.

As with Cold River Vodka, the base spirit of the gin is made from potatoes grown at a nearby family farm, Green Thumb Farms, and is made with pristine spring water from the Cold River aquifer. Like the vodka, it is also gluten free.

We generally like a heavy juniper flavor, but for those who don’t, the berries here are not overpowering. We can also taste the lemon and orange peel, and if we focus hard, the cardamom. We tossed some cardamom seeds into the glass for decor (and when the gin was gone, we chewed the seeds).

Consider giving Dad a hand-numbered bottle for Father’s Day. The suggested retail price is $25.99. Learn more at the company website. To find a retailer near you, email info@mainedistilleries.com.

Tomorrow: gin cocktail recipes.