Tom Nichol is an impotant figure in reviving gin with his creation of the Tanqueray 10, he has proven that large-scale distilling deosn't equal to compromised quality. He retired a decade ago, but coaxed into returning to make this one gin, with conditions. 

The Gardener French Riviera Gin, a collaboration between Brad Pitt and Matthieu Perrin is rooted in Provence’s terroir and execution expected from obsessive attention to detail from the master distiller, except it's not just him, but from Perrin as well. 

A Seed Planted in Provence

The Gardener Gin was launched at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, a stage fitting to debut a spirit backed by Hollywood and French winemaking royalty. The project itself began during the pandemic, when Pitt and the Perrins, already partners in Miraval Rosé and later Fleur de Miraval Champagne, finally acted on an idea that had been circling for years, to create a spirit that represent their admiration of the South of France.

For the Perrins, five generations into their stewardship of Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, this was more than just a business move. Climate change has been shifting their harvests earlier every year, and diversifying into spirits felt like both an exploration and a safeguard for the future. For Pitt, it was partly about joining friends in the spirits world, but mostly about translating the place he’d fallen in love with into another medium.

Why Gin?

From the outset, they agreed the spirit would not be aged. That ruled out cognac and whisky. It had to be something immediate, expressive, and rooted in terroir. Gin quickly became the obvious choice. Since none of them knew how to make gin, they turned to one of the most respected names in the business, Tom Nichol, former master distiller at Tanqueray. 

In deciding the style of gin, it had to be a London Dry to honour craft, discipline, and provenance, the same values that define both the Perrins’ wines and Nichol’s distilling legacy.

The Perrin family, known for generations of winemaking value craft rooted in heritage. They wanted their first spirit to reflect the same integrity, something “in line with the origins of the category.” London Dry is the benchmark style of gin, defined by purity of process: no added flavours or sweeteners after distillation, and an emphasis on distilling botanicals together. It was the most authentic way to honour the craft rather than follow trends.

When they approached Nichol, he agreed to work with them only if it would be a true London Dry. In his words, “a gin must be made with grain spirit or it’s not London Dry.” That became a defining condition, he even dictated four essential botanicals (juniper, angelica root, coriander seed, liquorice). The family accepted, adding their own conditions that the recipe be organic, unique, and rooted in Provence, limiting botanicals sourced only from their estates at Miraval and Beaucastel.

They were adamant The Gardener should not be a “celebrity gin.”, so Pitt took no part in the recipe. Choosing London Dry, the most disciplined, technical style, underscored their seriousness. It positioned Gardener alongside the world’s classic gins rather than as a novelty product.

A botanist catalogued 140 plants growing there. From that list, Nichol created a recipe in just two weeks. The final formula: 13 botanicals, including basil, winter savoury (somewhere between thyme and rosemary), sweet almond, and a heavy emphasis on citrus, lemon, orange, pink grapefruit, and the elusive bigarade, a bitter orange. Seven of the 13 lean citrus, giving Gardener its defining freshness.

Production happens in Charente, Cognac country, where stills sit idle outside cognac season. The process is slow and deliberate. The base, organic summer wheat spirit, is redistilled once before any botanicals are added, purely to give more copper contact and texture. It’s an extra step, more costly, but it delivers the silky, oily mouthfeel Nichol insisted on. After distillation, the spirit rests for a month before dilution to 42% ABV.

How It Tastes

Gardener isn’t loud on the nose. Instead, it opens slowly: citrus zest, a brush of herbs, and juniper sitting firmly but not aggressively in the middle. On the palate, it’s rounded and textured, sweet almond and liquorice softening the edges, basil and winter savoury adding a herbal flicker, with grapefruit and bitter orange lifting everything towards a crisp, lingering finish. It feels less like a punchy craft gin and more like something measured, balanced, and built for timelessness.

A bottle with Riviera light. [Photo source: The Gardener Gin]

If the liquid was left to Nichol and the Perrins, the bottle bears Pitt’s fingerprints. Designed by Stranger & Stranger, its colour shifts between green and blue, a nod to the changing shades of the Mediterranean. Vertical ridges catch the light like brushstrokes or sea grass in the wind. The name itself came from a botanical garden planted at Miraval when the first plants were surveyed, the “Gardener” became shorthand for the project, and then the brand.

The logo ties the story together: a sun, vineyards, and lines that represent both creativity and cultivation. In short, it’s as carefully considered as the gin inside.

Gardener Gin isn’t pitched as a celebrity side project, nor as a winemaker’s experiment. From the beginning, the ambition was to sit alongside the world’s established gins. Less than two years in, it’s already present in 42 countries, with France and the US its biggest markets, and Singapore among its first Asian footholds.

Purchase Gardener Gin from Malt & Wine Asia and get a free tote bag, while stock last.

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