Grapefruit peel is the choice that separates this from a textbook dry gin. Orange is the safe citrus and almost every recipe uses it; grapefruit carries a bitterness along with it, and Malfy Originale takes its shape from exactly that. Everything else on the list is deliberately classical: hand-picked Italian juniper, coriander, cassia, licorice, and orange peel alongside, on Italian winter wheat spirit at 42%.

Juniper opens the aroma clearly and without apology, which is the point of a bottle called Originale. The citrus arrives immediately behind it, and the two peels divide the work: orange occupies the middle with a rounder, sweeter zest, while grapefruit sharpens the edges and leaves a clean bitterness at the back. Coriander bridges them with its warm, faintly citric seed spice. Cassia bark adds a dry cinnamon-like warmth deeper down, and licorice is the one that changes the finish, bringing a sweetness that carries no sugar and lengthening everything considerably. Italian winter wheat gives a soft, slightly creamy base that stops the citrus turning shrill. The palate stays smooth from start to close, and the finish is crisp and properly dry.

A gin built this classically wants a classic glass. Unflavoured tonic, ice by the handful, and a grapefruit wedge in place of lemon, since that tracks the more interesting half of this recipe. It also makes an excellent Negroni, where the licorice meets the bitter vermouth without either giving way. Flavoured tonics are the thing to avoid here: the citrus is already doing that job. Hand-picked juniper is a labour cost that shows in the aroma rather than on the label, and it explains how clean the opening is. Bitterness is the rarest thing in a modern citrus gin, and this recipe keeps hold of it. It ends citric, dry and clean.