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Q4 Gin Club: Back to Marin

Q4 Gin Club: Back to Marin

by Fillmore Staff in Club Corner

  Alamere London Dry Gin

For our final Gin Club selection of 2026, we stay close to home while traveling, in spirit, back to France. Alamere is the work of Marin restaurateurs Susannah and Olivier Souvestre. Olivier, a Breton chef and former chef/co-owner of Le Garage in Sausalito, first encountered distillation as a child beside his grandfather, distilling apples in France.
Today that memory lives again in Marin County through a copper alembic imported from Bordeaux.
A fitting finale to the year: French memory, California ingredients, and the Pacific at the door.

Cheers!

Fabien Damman

 

Alamere London Dry Gin

Origin: Marin County, California

At the heart of Alamere is a dialogue between
inheritance and reinvention. Olivier Souvestre grew up
in France and learned the rudiments of distillation
beside his grandfather; years later, after building a
career in Marin restaurants, he and Susannah founded
Alamere Spirits. The distillery uses a traditional copper
alembic imported from Bordeaux, joining an old-world
method to a distinctly California sensibility.
The London Dry begins with French wheat and 13
aromatics. Dry spices macerate for 36 hours, while
fresh citrus peel is added just before distillation to
preserve its brightness. California almonds give the
spirit its signature velvety texture; Italian juniper brings
pine and citrus; cubeb pepper contributes dry spice;
and orris root helps the aromas linger. The result is
classical without being severe: generous juniper, vivid
citrus and a clean, bone-dry finish.
The name Alamere looks west. It comes from Alamere
Falls, Marin's rare tidefall where fresh water meets the
Pacific, and the distillery connects the word to an old
French rendering of 'to the sea.' For the close of our
2026 Gin Club, it feels almost philosophical: the alembic
carries memory forward, while the sea keeps every
horizon open.

Tasting Notes:
Nose: bright juniper, citrus peel, dry spice
Palate: silky texture, pine, lemon zest, almond softness,
pepper
Finish: long, crisp, aromatic and bone-dry

ABV / Size: 42%

Base: French wheat


Botanicals:
13 aromatics including Italian juniper, California
almonds, citrus peel, cubeb pepper and orris root

 

Alamere Martini

2 1⁄2 oz Alamere London Dry Gin
1⁄2 oz dry vermouth
Lemon twist
Add gin and vermouth to a mixing glass filled with ice.
Stir until very cold, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Express a lemon twist over the surface and garnish.

Marin Negroni

1 oz Alamere London Dry Gin
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Campari
Orange peel
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain over a large cube in a rocks glass
and finish with orange peel.

 

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Rosé Club October 2026

Rosé Club October 2026

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Champagne Club October 2026

Champagne Club October 2026

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Beer Club October 2026: Orange Season

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