The nose is lemon before it is anything else, and that impression comes from four separate plants rather than one. Lemon peel supplies the zest, lemongrass a sharper and greener version of the same note, lemon verbena a softer and more perfumed one, and lemon thyme the herbal, faintly resinous edge that a fruit alone never gives. Alqueva Lake Gin distils them in copper in the Alentejo, at 40%.

Stacking four lemon-scented botanicals is a deliberate way to build depth in a register that usually stays flat. Each carries a different part of the aroma, so the citrus reads as layered instead of loud, and orange peel rounds the whole group from below. Underneath that, the recipe is orthodox and unhurried: juniper leads and holds, coriander seed adds a lightly peppery warmth, and angelica root sets down the dry, earthy structure the citrus needs to sit on. Cinnamon and cloves are present as warmth rather than as spice you could name in a blind glass. Liquorice root lengthens the close with a natural sweetness, and a note of apple rounds off any remaining edge.

The palate follows the nose closely, which citrus-forward gins do not always manage. Juniper first, then lemon in its several dimensions, then the softer orange, then a spice echo that fades slowly. The texture is clean and the finish moderately persistent. Copper stills and forty percent are both conservative choices, and both suit a recipe built on this much precision.

A neutral tonic is the obvious choice, since a flavoured one would simply add a fifth citrus to a gin that already has four. Lemon peel is coherent, and a sprig of lemon thyme repeats the recipe exactly. It stands up in a Gin Fizz or a dry Collins, where its brightness survives dilution. It ends citric, herbal and dry.