Most gins start from a neutral spirit whose only job is to disappear. This one starts from Most, the grape distillate Bepi Tosolini has built its name on, drawn from Merlot, Cabernet and Refosco grown in Friuli, and that decision shapes everything that follows. The house has been distilling there since 1943, and this goes into the bottle at 40%.

A grape base is not neutral and is not meant to be. Distillate made from wine grapes carries a rounder, softer body than a grain spirit does, with a faint vinous quality underneath that gives the palate weight before any botanical is counted. The three varieties bring different things: Merlot is the supple one, Cabernet the more structured, Refosco the local grape with a firmer, slightly darker edge. Together they produce a foundation that fills the mouth rather than simply carrying flavour across it. The botanical blend that sits on top is the distillery's own and is not disclosed, which puts the emphasis exactly where the producer wants it. What comes through is an elegant, notably balanced spirit in which nothing shouts and the texture does much of the work.

A Mediterranean tonic is what the house recommends, and the instinct is sound: that style brings citrus and herb rather than sweetness, and it meets the grape base without covering it. Keep the glass properly cold, be generous with the ice, and skip anything flavoured. Lemon peel alone is garnish enough. Without anything added and barely chilled is the other way to take it, and the one that shows the body most plainly. Building a gin on wine grapes costs more and says something; here it is audible. A name printed on the base spirit rather than on the botanical list is unusual, and here it is the honest emphasis. It ends smooth, balanced and long.