Fifty percent is a decision with consequences all the way down a recipe. More alcohol carries more aromatic material, so a botanical that would be inaudible at forty becomes legible, and the whole balance has to be recalculated around that. Buss Spirits bottles White Rain at that strength in Antwerp, on 100% pure grain and fresh botanicals with nothing artificial added.

Marjoram is the botanical that benefits most. A cooking herb more than a distiller's, sweet with a light pepper, nearer oregano than thyme, it would be lost in a gentler spirit and here it holds the centre with real presence. Verbena works above it, lemony and green without any fruit involved, and the two herbs together give the recipe a savoury turn its floral half would not suggest. Orange and lemon supply the citrus, one round and one sharp. Underneath, the familiar structure holds: juniper green and firm, coriander warming, cardamom cool, angelica dry and earthy at the base. Vanilla and iris root soften the whole arrangement, and liquorice lengthens the close. At fifty percent everything holds its shape rather than blurring.

A strength like this changes the glass. Undiluted over ice is what the producer suggests first, and it works, since there is enough spirit to survive dilution and enough aroma to reward it. Mixed, a neutral tonic and heavy icing serve it well, and the ratio can stay conventional because the gin will not disappear. Lemon peel makes the safe choice; a marjoram sprig follows the herbs. Gold in New York in 2018 with Belgian Gin of the Year alongside, and gold in Brussels in 2015. Awards rarely say much about a recipe, but two golds thirteen years apart say something about consistency. It closes herbal, citric and strong.