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Overview:

Absinthe Inspired Gin

Most people go big to find bold. Wee Mad Beasties goes small, and a little mad with it.

Madness was created for that. Green anise and grand wormwood, the old absinthe botanicals, for the kind of obsession most people would call mad. The iridescent colour running through the bottle and label, green, blue and pink, is the same fluorescent colour he finds in the field, the kind most people are moving too fast to notice. Bee pollen for the wee mad beasties themselves, the small creatures he's spent his life chasing. And on the back, his signature shot: the beetle that started it all.

How this works

  1. Pre-order your bottle today for £40, plus £5 UK shipping. £45 total, charged in full now (refunded if it isn't produced.)
  2. Once 100 people have pre-ordered, it goes into full production.
  3. No second charge. Once it's ready, it ships.

What's in the Gin?

Botanicals:

The manifest:

Capacity:

bottles

Bottle sizes:

70cl

ABV:

43%

Distilled in:

Scotland

Madness

A gin made with Wee Mad Beasties, a Scottish macro photographer, and the small, overlooked things he chases.

The story behind the gin:

Wee Mad Beasties

David Hamilton's photography has turned up on BBC Scotland, Disney+ and National Geographic. Most of it happens somewhere much quieter though: in the mud at Ruchill Park finding unique creatures, or waiting out the light in an Ecuadorian rainforest for one florescent green bee to land.

That search has taken him from Ruchill Park in Glasgow to Kew Gardens, Lake Como, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, and most recently the forests of Ecuador. Same instinct wherever he lands: find the tiny, overlooked thing nobody else stopped for.

He shoots handheld, often stacking dozens of frames into a single image just to get one insect's eye, wing or shell entirely in focus. Get close enough and the colours are almost unreal, fluorescent greens, blues and pinks on a beetle's shell or a bee's back that most people would never stop long enough to see. It's the kind of process that takes hours for one usable shot, and most of what he's chasing is something people walk past every day without a second look: a beetle on a garden wall, a damselfly on a blade of grass, a bee in a hedge.

We've followed his work for a while. What got us was the patience. Everyone else chases the big view. David chases one wing, one shell, one moment of colour, and won't move until he's got it.

This isn't the first time we've worked with him either. David's contributed photography to past Wildfire releases before Madness was ever an idea, the same kind of ongoing relationship a label designer has with a brand. Madness is the first release built around his own name and eye, rather than work done for someone else's.

How to drink:

Cocktails coming soon...

Interested in what the experts think?

Tasting notes:

Nose

Sweet green anise leads, warm rather than sharp. Juniper's pine sits just behind it, coriander lifting the top with dry citrus. A honeyed floral note underneath.

Palate

Juniper holds the centre. Anise spreads round and sweet across the middle, coriander turns it citrus, and angelica pulls it dry and rooty. Bee pollen adds a soft waxy honey weight rather than a flavour of its own.

Finish

Long and drying. A green herbal bitterness arrives late, grand wormwood held to a whisper, and lingers after the sweetness has gone.

From the distiller:

Absinthe felt like the honest choice, bold and a little wild, the kind of obsession most people would call mad. Green anise brings the sweetness, grand wormwood the bite, and bee pollen ties it back to the wee mad beasties themselves, the small creatures at the heart of it all.

Expedition

Notes

Every Wildfire Gin release tells a story of place, flavour, and adventure. Here, we explore the landscapes that inspired this edition, the unique botanicals gathered from the region, and the journey of crafting a gin that captures the spirit of exploration.

Madness Expedition was inspired by:

Wee Mad Beasties

David Hamilton's photography has turned up on BBC Scotland, Disney+ and National Geographic. Most of it happens somewhere much quieter though: in the mud at Ruchill Park finding unique creatures, or waiting out the light in an Ecuadorian rainforest for one florescent green bee to land.

That search has taken him from Ruchill Park in Glasgow to Kew Gardens, Lake Como, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, and most recently the forests of Ecuador. Same instinct wherever he lands: find the tiny, overlooked thing nobody else stopped for.

He shoots handheld, often stacking dozens of frames into a single image just to get one insect's eye, wing or shell entirely in focus. Get close enough and the colours are almost unreal, fluorescent greens, blues and pinks on a beetle's shell or a bee's back that most people would never stop long enough to see. It's the kind of process that takes hours for one usable shot, and most of what he's chasing is something people walk past every day without a second look: a beetle on a garden wall, a damselfly on a blade of grass, a bee in a hedge.

We've followed his work for a while. What got us was the patience. Everyone else chases the big view. David chases one wing, one shell, one moment of colour, and won't move until he's got it.

This isn't the first time we've worked with him either. David's contributed photography to past Wildfire releases before Madness was ever an idea, the same kind of ongoing relationship a label designer has with a brand. Madness is the first release built around his own name and eye, rather than work done for someone else's.

Stories from this Expedition

No stories currently live - check back soon!

This release supports a charity:

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Would you like to create your own Gin? Let's collaborate.

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