Bickens Gin

Two historic copper pot stillsPot stillA traditional still, often copper, that distils in batches. It keeps more texture and character than a column.Glossary, named Angela and Jenny, do the work behind this London DryLondon DryA style, not a place of origin: every flavour comes from distilling natural botanicals. After distillation only water and a trace of sugar may be added, with no flavouring or colouring.GlossarySee London Dry gins, and they are old enough that the naming is not just branding. Bickens runs ten botanicals through them at 40% ABV, and the four that lead are nutmeg, cinnamon, sweet orange and coriander: a warmer, spicier selection than the citrus-and-juniper default that most gins in the category settle for without much argument.

Citrus · Spicy · Herbal

Sweet orange opens proceedings, rounder than lemon would have been, more peel oil than sharp zest, and that sets a softer tone from the very start. Nutmeg and cinnamon arrive together underneath and they are the signature of the bottle: nutmeg dry and slightly powdery, cinnamon broader and warmer, the pair filling the centre with spice where a plainer London Dry would simply have left space. Coriander links them back to the juniper with its warm seed note, and the juniper itself holds the green resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary frame that the London Dry style requires of it.

The palate is citrusy at the front, spiced through the centre and dry at the close, the spice lasting noticeably longer than the fruit and giving the drink its length.

That spice run makes it a better cocktail base than a simple long drink, though it handles both perfectly well. In a gin and tonic, keep the tonic plain and reach for orange peel over lemon: orange runs with the recipe instead of cutting across it. Short, it stands up in a NegroniNegroniAn Italian cocktail of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and red bitter (Campari), served over ice with orange peel. Born in Florence in 1919.Glossary without disappearing and gives a MartiniDry MartiniGin and a little dry vermouth, stirred over ice and served in a well-chilled stemmed glass, with an olive or a twist.Glossary more warmth than usual. Naming the stills is the kind of detail that usually means nothing; here it points at equipment old enough to shape the spirit that comes off it. The close is dry and spiced, nutmeg and cinnamon trailing along after the orange.