Juniper Berries
At Beacon Commodities we have trusted collectors of juniper berries throughout Europe whom we have worked with for many years.
Juniper is the key botanical in the production of Gin. As juniper is a wild product, (unlike coriander, angelica, orange peel and lemon peel) its handling and processing is essential to ensure a consistent and quality product. This is the reason why at Beacon Commodities we have built up such close relationships with our collectors over many years.
The demand for juniper has significantly increased over the last few years with the rise of the Gin industry. This has placed further importance on ensuring that a close relationship with collectors is maintained to ensure a quality and consistent quantity is always available. The Gin Industry demand the highest quality juniper for the production of Gin throughout the world.
Juniper berries can come in many varieties and are grown wild throughout the world. At Beacon Commodities we concentrate on Juniperus Communis (but can source Juniperus Oxycedrus) which forms the most integral botanical of Gin throughout the world.
The berries grow wild on steep mountain sides in areas where vegetation has not been cleared to make way for modern agriculture. The plant throws it’s crop 12 months in advance meaning there are both unripe (green) and ripe (blue/black) berries on the bush at any one time. This requires careful harvesting to avoid picking unripe berries and reducing next year’s crop. All juniper is picked by hand using a large sorting sieve that sits under the bush while the tree is gently tapped with a stick to knock off the ripe berries. The berries we source are then triple sifted to remove debris and can be colour sorted (if requested) to ensure a consistency of only ripe blue/black berries favoured in the production of Gin.
