Gray Whale Gin Is Saving The Planet Through Its 7x Distilling Process

At Gray Whale Gin, they believe a lovingly handcrafted spirit brings people together for good times and can also do some good in the world.

It’s a simple notion that was cooked up by the founders Jan and Marsh Mokhtari on a camping trip to Big Sur. Marsh and Jan met in a bar in Chicago 20 years ago. It sounds trite, but hey they make gin so it suddenly sounds profound.

Marsh is a food & adventure show host on the Food Network, National Geographic, and the Travel Channel. Jan is an award-winning creative director and filmmaker, creating campaigns and content for some of the world’s largest brands. In 2016, they combined their superpowers and founded Golden State Distillery, a distillery that celebrates California and supports the Golden State through nature and wildlife conservation.

Humbled by California’s stunning beauty, feeling lucky to be on that rocky coast, surrounded by ancient trees and the endless blue of the Pacific Ocean, and looking out past McWay Falls at the turquoise sea, Jan and Marsh saw a Gray Whale and its calf on their own road trip up North. This was a trip Gray Whales have been making for more than 30 million years, long before we stood up on two legs.

Every bottle of Gray Whale Gin is made with sustainably sourced ingredients from local farmers they know; thoughtfully designed with organic paint and a biodegradable cork. The Gray Whale van is also well-designed with solar panels for crafting cocktails anywhere.

These carefully selected botanicals are sourced from sustainable farms or wild-foraged. First, all sun-dried botanicals are weighed, inspected, and poured directly into the pot still. Then, the fresh hand-zested citrus and fir-tree needles are placed into a vapor extraction bag. This wonderfully fragrant giant tea bag is carefully tied inside a copper pot still helmet, directly above the base spirit.

Now, Gray Whale Gin celebrates their “12,000-mile journey” with a beautiful gin made of botanicals foraged along the migratory path of that majestic creature — from Temecula limes to sea kelp in Mendocino, as well as a few stops in between.

Every bottle of Gray Whale Gin supports Oceana, protecting and restoring the world’s oceans so that Gray Whales will continue to make that epic journey for another 30 million years.