The Botanical Club opened on Via Pastrengo in Isola in 2015, and it claims a first that no other Milan bar can: a working gin micro-distillery on the premises. A 150 litre copper still nicknamed The Big Charlie dominates the room, producing the house gin, Spleen and Ideal, from Italian grain and Serbian juniper.
Who would love it: gin drinkers who want to taste where the spirit comes from, and anyone who treats a cocktail list as a reason to ask questions. Who would hate it: large groups, since the original Isola bar is small and fills fast.
The interior leans into its name, with hanging plants, botanical detailing, and a retro green and metal bar at the front. Time Out Milan frames the place as Italy's first gin distillery and much more, and that "much more" is the kitchen, which sends out small plates built to pair with juniper rather than fight it. The founders, Alessandro Longhin and Davide Martelli, designed the whole project around the still.
Order from the signature menu, which changes every month and is built around one of the house gins. Past pours have run from the savoury Quentin, made with gin, lemon, wasabi and Pachino tomatoes, to the bourbon-based Jordan with amaretto and barley water. The monthly Gin and Tonic builds are the strongest version of that drink in the city, and the staff can walk through botanical profiles from Scotland, Japan, Italy and Australia with real authority. Skip the safe choices. The point is the experiment.
Best time to go is early evening on a weeknight, before the small front bar reaches standing capacity. A larger second location on Via Tortona near Porta Genova handles bigger groups and longer dinners. Either way, the gin is the throughline. See where it lands in our best cocktail bars in Milan ranking, and pair it with a classic like Bar Basso in Milan. For the full city, start with the Milan bar guide.
Sources: Time Out Milan; Gambero Rosso International; Punch; The Botanical Club official site (botanicalclub.com, 2026).
