Monkey 47 gin is named for the "guesthouse" that Montgomery "Monty" Collins ran in the Black Forest of Germany called the Wild Monkey. He made a gin and decades later Alexander Stein is said to have uncovered this recipe and re-introduced it. The "47" comes from a full 47 different botanicals used in the gin... an astonishingly large number that is closer to an absinthe than gins (we normally see gins in 6-12 range). They use 100% fresh and all natural herbs in the infusion. It is blended down with water from the Black Forest, which they regard as having a special soft character. The base distillate is molasses (rum!) and the infusion done as a maceration (think of a good, thorough soaking) for 36 hours. The gin is rested in earthenware containers for 3 months prior to bottling. It is bottled unfiltered with numbered batches, which suggests one should expect a slight haze in the spirit and perhaps some variation from batch to batch. They suggest looking for citrus and floral notes with a hint of cranberry. Because of the floral character and the high number of ingredients, we've classified this as a modern-styled gin. 

Black Forest Distillers is located in Durbach, Germany in the Black Forest in a region known as Schwarzwald. It is an area known for both cuckoo clocks and spirits. It is owned and managed by Alexander Stein and Christopher Keller in a distiller that is now centuries old.  Pernod-Ricard acquired a majority stake in the distillery in January, 2016.