James Bay Distillers announced the release of its Berlin Station Covert Cold-War Cocktail, a blend of citrus-forward gin with a whisper of scotch whisky and a tart hint of lemon zest.

The cocktail hails from a Cold War era CIA Station Chief in Berlin, who was said to favor this drink while planning clandestine operations against the Soviet Union and East Germany.

 “We have zero experience in the dark arts of espionage, but we love a good story and a great cocktail – and we have a lot of experience in development of fun and tasty drinks,” Ernest Troth, James Bay Distillers company president, said in a news release.

“We started this project after a harmless workplace accident – adding scotch by mistake to a blending tank of gin – and now after some six months of research and testing, our test panels have OK’d us to move ahead to production scale,” Troth added.  “We also found inspiration from the epic spy novel, “Harlot’s Ghost,” which recounted the CIA Station Chief’s mixing and drinking this cocktail.” 

The Berlin Station label depicts a late night clandestine surveillance operation, with a Berlin-based CIA spy standing under a streetlamp while watching his target disappear into the foggy night. 

Berlin Station is available at the distillery at Paine Field, in Everett, WA., and retails for $36.65 in a 750ml bottle at 80-proof (40% alc/vol).

Online sales will be available soon. 

Read more: James Bay Distillers Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

About James Bay Distillers

The Everett, WA-based company produces a wide range of whiskies, gins and vodka. All products are available for wholesale, export and retail sales. For more information, visit https://www.jamesbaydistillers.com/.