5th Fire Red Fruits Gin

5th Fire is the red-fruit member of a Catalan range named after the classical elements. Destil·leries del Maresme, based on the coast north of Barcelona, bottles it at 42% ABV, and the bright pink colour in the bottle comes from the fruit itself rather than from any added dye.

Floral · Fruity

The gin starts from a triple-distilledTriple distilledThe spirit goes through the still three times before or with the botanicals: each run cleans it up, giving a purer, softer base.Glossary grain spirit, clean and colourless, carrying a classic botanical set: juniper, coriander, angelica, cassia, orris, liquorice, citrus and cardamom. Strawberry, blackberry, blueberry and redcurrant are then infusedInfusionFruit or plants are steeped in the spirit to release their flavour. Done after distillation, infusion often adds colour too, and the gin can no longer be called London Dry.Glossary into that base, which is what places the bottle in the flavoured category while keeping a real gin structure underneath. Nothing about the method is unusual; what matters is that the fruit is maceratedMacerationBotanicals soak in alcohol, from a few hours to several days, before distillation to release their aromas.Glossary rather than dosed as syrup.

Strawberry and redcurrant lead the aroma, with blackberry and blueberry filling in a darker, deeper register behind them. Juniper is still audible and stops the whole thing from smelling like jam.

On the palate the fruit is ripe but not heavy, the acidity of the redcurrant keeps it lively, and the texture stays smooth with only a hint of sweetness. The finish is clean, closing on berries and a light resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary note.

Keep the serve simple so the fruit stays recognisable: 4cl over plenty of ice, 10cl of a neutral tonic, and two or three fresh berries dropped in whole. Crushing them clouds the drink and blunts the acidity that makes it work. The same bottle gives an easy, colourful base for spritz-style long drinks, and its siblings in the range cover citrus, floral and a plain dry ginDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins for anyone who wants to taste the family side by side. Seventy-centilitre bottles are the standard format, and the colour alone tells you which element you are holding.