Celebrating 10 years of Aria Gin with a bold new look!
Aria Portland Dry Gin is now Aria Classic Dry Gin.
Aria Gin has earned Gold or Double Gold medals in every judging into which it’s ever been entered. Even more importantly, over the last 10 years, you’ve made Aria Gin the best selling locally owned spirit distilled in Oregon. So, while our new look is a bold change, the gin in the bottle is exactly the same meticulously crafted Aria Gin in you’ve come to know and love.
Our bold new package design is our biggest update ever.
Our new bottle is custom designed and bespoke to Aria Gin. The botanicals—the heart of the gin—add an eye catching pop of color. Typography receives an update that is familiar, yet sophisticated. This bottle stands out on a shelf, while maintaining a simple elegance that has always been a hallmark of Aria Gin.
We’d never mess with perfection—we’ve only improved our look.
Aria Gin has always been a classic London Dry style gin. Our updated branding more clearly articulates that Aria is truly an English style gin, born of traditional ingredients, and handmade using traditional distillation techniques.
Botanicals—the heart of the gin
Juniper / Juniperus communis / (Croatia) ORGANIC
Juniper is a woody shrub in the coniferous evergreen or cypress family that is native to North America, Europe and Asia. Although the fruit of this plant are commonly called berries, they are actually small cones that take nearly two years to mature and change color from green to purplish-black. Juniper is the one key ingredient common to all gins and is responsible for gin’s distinctive flavor and aroma. Even the word “gin” originates from an Anglicized version of the Dutch word for juniper—genever.
Coriander / Coraindrum sativum / (Egypt) ORGANIC
Coriander is native to Europe and Asia, but can be grown all over the world. The seeds are gathered in late summer. The plant, also known as cilantro, is intensely aromatic. It grows up to 20 inches high and has small upper leaves used for flavoring food. It also grows white and pink flowers that produce seeds.
Angelica Root / Archangelica officinalis / (Oregon) ORGANIC
Ironically, this herb was once said to “cause a disgust for spirituous liquors,” and was touted as a remedy for alcoholism. Behind juniper and coriander, angelica is the third most common ingredient found in gin. Angelica is a hardy biennial sometimes perennial originating in Europe and is a member of the Apiaceae family, also known as Umbelliferae—or the carrot family, which includes anise, celery, cumin, fennel, dill and other plants characterized by feathery leaves, fluted stems and clusters of flowers that emerge from globular umbels. The roots are harvested in autumn.
Grains of Paradise / Aframomum melegueta / (West Africa)
A. melegueta is an herbaceous perennial plant native to swampy habitats along the West African coast and is part of the ginger plant family. Its trumpet-shaped, purple flowers develop into 5–7 cm long pods containing numerous small, reddish-brown seeds—Grains of Paradise. About one-eighth of an inch in diameter, the seeds from this plant are approximately the same size as cardamom, which is also in the ginger family. The seeds lend peppery and citrusy notes and an underlying complexity, which helps bind other flavors in the gin.
Cardamom / Elettaria cardamomum / (Guatemala) ORGANIC
Cardamom is an ancient spice native to the East originating in the forests of the western ghats in southern India, where it grows wild. Today it also grows in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Indo China and Tanzania. A large perennial of the ginger family, called Elattari or Ilach in its native India, yields the seeds known as cardamom.
Cassia Bark / Cinnamomum cassia / (Indonesia) ORGANIC
Chinese cinnamon originates in China, but is widely cultivated elsewhere in southern and eastern Asia. An evergreen tree of the Lauraceae, or Laurel family, it grows to 10–15m tall with a spread of 6–10m. Cinnamon has grayish or light brown, papery bark. In several European languages, the word for cinnamon comes from the Latin word cannella, a diminutive of canna, or “tube,” from the way it curls up as it dries.
Orange Peel / Citrus aurantium / (Spain)
Bitter orange peel comes from the Seville orange, a citrus tree native to southeastern Asia. The name “Seville” refers to the fact that the tree was cultivated in Seville, Spain in the 12th century, though this tree was cultivated much earlier throughout the Middle East and South Sea Islands. It was the only variety of orange available in Europe for 500 years. The Spanish introduced it to Florida in the 18th century.
Lemon Peel / Citrus limonum / (USA) ORGANIC
Likely native to the Indian subcontinent, in prehistory the plant was spread through cultivation into the Orient. Use was recorded in Greece by 300 BC. By 20 BC cultivators were noted in Italy. Evidence of the use of lemon has been discovered in the ruins of Pompeii. Seeds were brought to the Caribbean and Florida by the Spanish before 1500 AD. It was being cultivated in California by 1750, and in Florida by 1870.
Orris root / Iris x germanica / (Morocco) ORGANIC
Commonly called iris, flag iris, pale iris, bearded iris, fleur-de-lis, garden iris, or German iris. Orris refers to the root of the flowering plant which grows to three feet tall, with bluish-green, narrow, flat, sword shaped leaves and large, deep blue, or purplish-blue flowers that bloom in spring. Like the plant’s flowers, the rhizome is very floral and intensely aromatic.
Cubeb Berry / Piper cubeba / (Malaysia) ORGANIC
Also known as Cubeb, Tailed Pepper, and False Pepper. The cubeb plant originally comes from Indonesia, but is now grown in many parts of Asia. The cubeb plant is a perennial that grows tall—up to 20 feet high. It grows well in the shade and is often found near coffee bushes where it can be protected from the sun. The leaves are oval shaped and green in color. The fruit is brown and round and grows from the small flowers of the plant. Its spicy, peppery flavor makes it a popular additive to Asian food and gin.
Praise for Aria Gin
The Good Food Awards—2017
“10Best” Craft Gin Distilleries in the USA—2016 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice
Gold Medal—2015 American Craft Spirits Association
Gold Medal—2015 The Gin is In
Double Gold Medal—2015 The 50 Best
Gold Medal—2014 American Craft Distillers Association
Gold Medal, 93 points, Exceptional—2014 Beverage Testing Institute of Chicago
Gold Medal—2014 The Fifty Best
Double Gold Medal—2014 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Gold Medal—2013 American Distilling Institute Craft Spirits Judging
Hogmanay Award—2012 Stuart Ramsay
“...probably the best domestic gin under $30...”
“...an incredible yet classic London Dry-style...”
“...perfectly balanced between juniper, citrus, floral, earth, and spice. It’s won gold or better in every contest it’s been in, and while it’s 90 proof, it’s surprisingly sippable for a gin. Still, it shines in cocktails, especially a Negroni."
-Thrillist
“...the initial lightness of Aria Portland Dry Gin betrays the spirit's complex spiciness—hints of coriander and cardamom—that plays perfectly against a fine citrus zest. While one could have a perfectly good time sipping this one neat, it really begs to be paired with dry vermouth and a twist of lemon.”
-Men’s Journal
“The biggest endorsement comes from the back bars of many fancy-cocktail joints all around Portland: Alongside Hendrick’s and Tanqueray, you’ll more often than not find a bottle of Aria Gin. It’s a well-balanced, cocktail-friendly spirit.”
-Playboy
“The 10 Best Gins On The Market”
“...best mixed in a martini or jasmine cocktail. It has a silky, fruity body and smells of spices and pine blossoms.”