Rectification plates make a spirit cleaner and take something away while they do it. Balancal leaves them out deliberately, because what those plates strip first is exactly the sweet aromatic weight that fennel brings, and fennel is the point of this Madeiran London Dry. Bottled at 41.2% after dilution with mountain water.

The method explains the shape of the palate. Botanicals macerate for a full day in neutral grain spirit at 50% before the still is lit, which draws the material out slowly, and running the distillation without plates lets the heavier, sweeter compounds carry over instead of being left behind. Fennel seed arrives first because of it, sweet and aniseed, quite unlike the dry herbal note fennel gives in a lighter extraction. Coriander follows across the centre with a warm spiced seed, and liquorice extends that direction on a sweetness no sugar produced. Angelica root puts dry earth underneath, orris root ties the whole together, and juniper keeps a clean line from first to last. Sweet at the front, spiced across the centre, long and dry when it goes.

The producer names a Mediterranean tonic and a thin slice of lime, and both choices are considered. That tonic style brings herb and citrus rather than sugar, which suits an already sweet-fronted gin, and lime cuts where lemon would merely agree. Ice the glass properly and pour a full measure. Anything sweetened doubles the fennel and ruins the balance. Choosing a less efficient still setup to keep one botanical intact is a real cost accepted for a reason. Fennel is a kitchen seed before it is a distiller's, and putting it first requires the still to be set up around it. A still configured around one seed is a commitment no label communicates. It ends aniseed, spiced and dry.