RI Spirits and Save The Bay Launch Special Edition Gin Featuring Botanicals Foraged from Narragansett Bay’s Coast (Save The Bay)

Rhode Island Spirits has partnered with Save The Bay to release a new gin made with botanicals foraged directly from the shoreline of Save The Bay’s Providence Bay Center, with a portion of every bottle sold going back to bay conservation.

Rhodium Save The Bay Gin is the latest release from Rhode Island Spirits, New England’s only LGBTQ-owned spirits brand, which produces the Rhodium line of craft gin and vodka at the Isle Brewers Guild campus in Pawtucket. For every bottle sold, RI Spirits will donate $5 to Save The Bay.

RI Spirits founder and master forager Cathy Plourde selected the botanicals personally, drawing on coastal plants native to Narragansett Bay’s shoreline. Bay laurel provides a savory base, complemented by the light fruitiness of beach plums and citrus. Saltbush contributes a subtle mineral quality, and spruce tips — harvested in spring — add bright, lightly resinous notes.

“Save The Bay Gin’s distinctive use of bay laurel provides a savory fragrance that is complemented by the light fruitiness of beach plums and citrus,” Plourde said.

The collaboration joins two Rhode Island institutions with shared roots in community engagement and environmental stewardship. Save The Bay has protected and restored Narragansett Bay since 1970 through advocacy, education and habitat restoration.

“The fact that several of the botanicals are foraged just outside our office is really special,” said Save The Bay Deputy Director Maureen Fogarty.

RI Spirits Beverage Director Andrea Tateosian has created a signature cocktail to showcase the gin — the Save The Bay Breeze, a coastal riff on the classic Sea Breeze. The gin and cocktails featuring it are available at the RI Spirits distillery in Pawtucket. It is also available through Southern Glazer’s in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...