Queen of Swedish gardens reigns despite of the lack of rain.

Blackcurrant is considered as the queen of Swedish gardens and nearly one million households in the country are cultivating these super berries loaded with many good qualities. They are thriving in the Swedish cool climate that gives them a very deep purple color, a quality that is carried over to our gin based spirit drink Hernö Blackcurrant. The organic blackcurrant we are using is cultivated at a local farm, Hildas Trädgård, striving to follow natures own pattern for growing organic crops in The High Coast of Sweden.

The heritage of pure soil.

Fertilizers and pesticide are not good for you. That was the firm belief of Hilda who was running the farm with true dedication and the love of traditional agriculture from the beginning of the 19^thcentury until 1993. She was working according to ecological principles long before the term became known. The heritage of Hilda is cherished until today on pure soil never contaminated with artificial products to increase the harvest.

– This is the ground supplying Hernö Gin with blackcurrant. Local. Pure. Organic, states Jon Hillgren, Master Distiller and founder of Hernö Gin.

Cool climate giving a deep purple color.

Blackcurrant is known for being boosted with lots of substances that are good for your health and traditionally they are used for making syrup, jelly and jam.

– The health effects are lost though once the berries are mixed with spirit. But the taste and the color consists, smiles Jon.

The deep purple color is unique for blackcurrants grown in Sweden and other countries at the same latitude. The climate up here in the north is perfect for high quality berries with plenty of antioxidants and carotenes that carries the color.

Dry summer and bad harvest makes blackcurrant rare 2018.

The perfect combination of sun, space and shadow. That’s what blackcurrants want to thrive. Extreme heat and drought characterized the summer of 2018 in Sweden and resulted in bad harvest.

– Hilmas garden managed well to maintain production and we are so very happy for every single berry we got this year. Berries a bit smaller than usual, but carrying a lot of taste flavoring a marvellous Hernö Blackcurrant with the same quality as always, tells Jon.

This years Hernö Blackcurrant comes in a very limited edition, only released on the Swedish market.

A summer memory with the taste of gardenparty at grandma’s.

Summer in a bottle. A memory of gardenparty at grandma’s. A tase of jam and berries with a floral sweetness that meets characteristic juniper tones. That’s the result of letting slightly sweetened Hernö Gin mature with ripe blackcurrant from Hildas garden.

– And just like Hilma we only use natural and organic ingredients creating Hernö Blackcurrant, ends Jon.

Hernö Blackcurrant, tasting notes

Nose:Bright, crisp blackcurrant with a hint of jammy tartness and a soft floral sweetness.

Palate:Juniper up front followed by an emerging range of complex flavours of the fruit, bold blackcurrant and sweetness with a hint of green notes of the leaf.

Finish:A long finish, with a definite dry tartness and a touch of acidity followed by a hint of nuttiness.