Thirty kilograms of white asparagus per hundred litres is not a flourish, it is a load. At that ratio the vegetable is no longer a note in the recipe but a substantial part of what is being distilled, and Meyer's M2 is built around the Flemish crop that Belgium treats as a seasonal event. Christophe Demeyer and Tim Veys make it at 43%.

White asparagus is grown under soil so that it never develops chlorophyll, which is why it is milder and sweeter than the green kind and why it works here at all. What it contributes is an earthy, faintly bitter vegetal depth, savoury rather than sweet, and it fills the bottom of the palate where a root would ordinarily sit. Woodruff is the second unexpected ingredient, hay-scented and gently sweet once dried, and it softens the vegetable from above. The herbs then take the middle: rosemary resinous, sage dry and dusty, and the pair of them pulls the drink toward the kitchen rather than the bar. Lavender adds the floral half, cool and aromatic, and cardamom lifts it with camphor. Orris root binds everything from below, juniper holds the centre, and further botanicals the distillery does not name fill in behind.

The serving advice is a recipe reference. Schweppes Pink Pepper tonic and fresh parsley stems recreate asperges à la flamande in a glass, and following it exactly is more rewarding than improvising. Ice generously and pour a full measure. Sweetened mixers destroy the savoury half first. Tasting of one specific national dish is a narrow proposition, honestly made. Asparagus season lasts a few weeks in Flanders, and a bottle is the only way anyone gets to have it in November, which may be the most practical argument for distilling a vegetable at all. It closes vegetal, herbal and dry.