Ernest “Ernie” and Leigh Troth / Founder/Owners, James Bay Distillers, Ltd., Everett, Washington

 

The iconic gin and tonic cocktail is so fragrant that perfumes have been created to smell like it. Ernest “Ernie” Troth, co-founder and owner of James Bay Distillers, Ltd. with his wife, Leigh, likes to joke that his award-winning gin could be used as a perfume because it shares three ingredients with the equally iconic Chanel N°5. Lochside Summer Gin N°5 is a sipping gin perfect for warmer days with fragrant notes of orange blossom, kumquat and orris root from the iris plant — all components of Chanel N°5.

“We joke that if someone runs out of perfume, they can just use Lochside Summer Gin N°5!” says Ernie.

Lochside Summer Gin N°5 was released in January 2020 and sold out within a week. Since then, it’s won a silver medal from the American Distilling Institute and other gold and silver medals at national and international competitions. Summer Gin N°5 is also ranked by Wine Enthusiast as one of their top 12 favorite gins in the USA.

Its unique two-step process starts with a traditional London Dry gin that undergoes a cold infusion to preserve the natural colors and flavors of The Perfect Purée Mandarin/Tangerine Concentrate, Orange Zest, orange blossom extract (or neroli as it’s known in the fragrance world) and other botanical infusions.

“The delicate flavors in Lochside Summer Gin N°5 would evaporate if produced in the traditional hot processes used in a still with a gin basket,” Ernie explains.

He describes his gin’s flavor as “delightful and transient” with an orange nose and positive juniper up front followed by citrus complexity and a natural sweetness in the finish.

Lochside Summer Gin N°5 is a true sipping gin so it shines without mixers but also makes a great summer cocktail like the Troths’ original Ginger Rogers with lemon-ginger syrup, ginger ale and muddled mint. The Mulkiteo Mule also pairs gin with ginger ale but amplifies the gin’s citrus notes with fresh lime.

James Bay Distillers, Ltd. is a craft distillery, spirits manufacturer and exporter of super premium Canadian, Scotch and American whiskies and gins. Operations between Washington and British Colombia encompass retail whisky and gin sales at the distillery in Everett, Washington, and a barrel aging facility in Chilliwack, B.C.

One of its defining business practices is cold-infused gin and whisky. Its top-selling Canadian whisky, an 88-proof bourbon recipe aged three years in Canada, doubles as the base for a chocolate-flavored whisky with an organic cacao infusion. After infusing the cacao, the Troths filter out the cocoa pieces at 1/2 micron, or one 2-millionths of a meter, preserving flavor and color. They use the same process for Lochside Summer Gin N°5.

“While we do have a London Dry gin, we do not release it as such — there are enough of those already,” Ernie says. “Instead, we cold infuse orange blossom, organic kumquat, Mandarin/Tangerine Concentrate and Orange Zest and again filter out the zesty pieces, leaving flavor and color.”

The Troths share a background in international IT project management and a love of top shelf, super premium sipping whiskies and sipping gins. James Bay Distillers originated in 2014 when they lived in Virginia and wanted to start a business producing and importing upscale whiskies and gins. After researching many areas in the U.S. and Canada, the couple opened at Paine Field Airport north of Seattle, where they operate the distillery and import whisky from Scotland as well as their own products from Canada to blend and bottle and re-export. To their knowledge, Ernie says, they are the only craft distillery on the West Coast with United Kingdom-approved Scotch labels for their Scotch whisky projects.

“This lets us hire more American labor while maintaining a global focus for exports,” Ernie explains.

The Troths have incorporated The Perfect Purée in their products since 2018 when they began formulating their trial batches of gins.

“We look for sources of reliability, high quality and purity with repeatable and standardized ingredients so each batch is the same quality,” Ernie says. “Though we tested many sources of citrus components, we settled on The Perfect Purée due to their high quality and ease of use. We are currently rated higher than many national (U.S.) and British gins, so you can understand why we are very satisfied with our experience with The Perfect Purée!”