Featured Artisan: Bulrush Gin

Arms Wide Open

Bulrush Gin is a perfectly balanced gin, classic in style, but still approachable.  It was originally created in the Lowcountry, in South Carolina, an area as well-known for its hospitable and welcoming spirit as for its understated magnificence and beauty.

In many ways, Bulrush is the embodiment of the lowcountry.  Which is fitting, since this region of the country, both its location and its vibe, is what inspired its creation.

Tony Bagnulo spent most of his career working on some of the world's most premium brands, nationally and internationally.  This experience gave him a unique understanding of a wide array of spirits, their stories and how they were crafted, and of course the appreciation of a top-quality bottle.

Eventually he found himself living in Hilton Head, SC, and decided he’d make the move from marketer to maker.  Cut to the man spending the better part of the next year in his kitchen.  He experimented with a wide array of aromatic ingredients and made many different gins, tweaking and perfecting with every iteration. Eventually, he created a gin he truly loved that he was happy to share with the people he loved, using thirteen different locally sourced herbs and botanicals.

Bulrush Gin is well-known and well-loved for its incredible versatility and its consummate approachability. It is a terrific gin in every kind of cocktail, from the classics and standby to the more experimental. And it fits equally well in a super low-key casual moment, like a night around the fire with friends, and in an elevated moment, like at a celebratory Lowcountry oyster roast.

Bulrush Gin started super-local and quickly gained a following amongst the restaurant and hospitality community in Hilton Head. The brand has been content to grow organically, developing relationships over time with enthusiasts who’ve stumbled upon it.  Its reputation as an excellent craft spirit extends down into the South and the Midwest, with followings in Atlanta and Ohio.

That organic growth mirrors the Bulrush way.  It’s a great gin. Aaron Knoll of The Gin is In considers it “criminally underrated.” But it isn’t shouting about itself.  It’s like that classic, always in style, but never pretentious bar in your hometown.  It’s that top-quality, indispensable, yet totally chill and always reliable bottle that exudes the kind of welcome found when you arrive at an old friend’s home for a long-awaited weekend away.  

One final thing that’s great about Bulrush?  It’s for everybody. Lots of folks consider themselves “not gin people.” Guess what Bulrush has a track record in doing?  Changing their minds.

So whether you’re all in for gin or whether you just haven’t found the right one yet, we know Bulrush will welcome you in.