Almonds are what make this recipe unusual, not the citrus. A sharp lime-family fruit at the top of a gin is a familiar arrangement; putting ground almonds underneath it is not, and the creamy roundness they contribute is the reason Birdie Kaffir does not taste as austere as its ingredient list predicts. Birdie Spirit Factory distils it at 44% in the north of France, the historic French home of jenever, as a reference to Réunion Island.

Kaffir lime carries the aroma and it is a different fruit from an ordinary lime, more perfumed, with a floral edge that survives dilution better than lime juice ever does. Java pepper meets it from below with a warm, slightly woody heat that has more depth than black pepper and less bite. Between those two extremes the softer botanicals do the reconciling. Coriander and cardamom supply the seed spice, one warm and one cooling, and they keep the middle occupied. Marjoram runs a savoury herbal thread across the palate, a kitchen herb rather than a perfumer's one, and it is the ingredient that pulls the recipe away from the tropical reading its name suggests. The almonds sit lowest, quietly, adding weight without flavour of their own. Juniper structures all of it. The order is consistent: citrus first, pepper second, herbs last.

Mixing it is straightforward as long as nothing sweet is involved. Unflavoured tonic, a glass filled with ice, and a wedge of lime if you have no kaffir leaf to hand. A leaf, clapped once between the palms and dropped in, is the better option and follows the recipe exactly. It is worth trying without dilution too, where the almond weight is easiest to notice. Naming a distant island while distilling in northern France covers more ground than most bottles admit. It closes citric, peppery and round.