Lubuski Lime Gin

Fifteen botanicals sit under the lime, which is more construction than a flavoured ginFlavoured ginGin with flavourings, often fruity, added after distillation. It may be coloured and lightly sweetened.GlossarySee Flavoured gin gins usually carries. Lubuski builds this one in the Lubusz region on the same broad principle as the original, then widens the recipe considerably: juniper, citrus peel, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, angelica root, cassia bark, liquorice, bitter almonds, star anise, bay leaf, calamus and marigold flowers all appear, before lime is brought across the top. The bottling strength is 37.5%.

Citrus · Fruity

Lime is the loudest voice and arrives with a zesty, invigorating sharpness, but it is very far from the only thing happening in the glass. Underneath, the long botanical list gives the drink a depth that most lime gins lack: cumin and bay leaf add a savoury, faintly earthy note through the middle, star anise and cinnamon supply a warm sweet spice, bitter almonds contribute a soft marzipan roundness, and calamus with marigold leaves a dry floral trace at the edges. Juniper and angelica hold the classical frame, keeping the citrus from taking over completely. The palate is lively at the front and considerably more complex behind it.

Because there is so much underneath the lime, a plain tonic is the only sensible choice - anything flavoured will bury the spice and leave just the citrus. Build it over a generously iced glass and garnish with a wedge or a strip of lime, which restates the headline ingredient without introducing a new one alongside it. It also works simply over ice, where the deeper botanicals become much easier to follow and the lime stops dominating the conversation. Given how much sits below the surface, that is the serve worth trying at least once. The close is zesty at first and warmly spiced afterwards.