When thoughts turn to Canada, the mind immediately thinks of its national spirit: Gin. Wait, what? Ungava isn’t just a Canadian gin — made exclusively with handpicked native Canadian botanicals — it’s a bright yellow Canadian gin. Think electric, Galliano-class yellow. Now that’s a unique gin. Inspired by all things in the Great White North, Ungava is a gin infused with six botanicals, many of which are completely foreign to most of us. Nordic juniper is the most mundane, followed by crowberry, Labrador tea, cloudberry, Arctic blend (a leafy evergreen shrub), and wild rose hips (which give Ungava its bright yellow color). It’s nothing if not eye-catching.
 
Here’s how it works out in the glass. There’s pretty juniper starts off the nose, with touches of lemon peel and an indistinct grassiness. The body is juniper-forward, but only modestly. As the more piney elements fade the gin brings forward notes of forest floor, sour apple, saffron, and rubber. The finish veers more toward earth than botanical pungency, offering a sort of chewy tree bark character as it fades to black. All told, Ungava is a balanced, versatile, and likable gin, remarkably traditional in many ways despite its unorthodox botanical bill, but with enough distinction — and that unmistakable color — to merit continued exploration.