Maxim’s Gin is made in France by Cognac Ferrand. From various reports, botanicals include violet and iris–floral notes that are becoming a signature of French-made gins. For that reason we have opted to list this as a modern-styled gin as opposed to the juniper-forward traditional dry. It is distilled from a base of wheat grain (another trademark of French products), implying a soft, approachable spirit base. The brand is apparently associated with Maxim’s de Paris, a restauranteur business.