Sicilian pink grapefruit is what separates Rosa from the rest of the Malfy range. Where the house built its reputation on lemon, this bottling puts the grapefruit in front and keeps the Italian sun-ripened lemons as support, with juniper, coriander and angelica root supplying the classical framework at 41% ABV. The pink fruit gives the gin both its colour cue and its particular bitterness.

Grapefruit leads and does so from the peel rather than the juice, which matters: the pith carries a fine bitterness that stops the fruit turning sweet, and that edge is the backbone of the whole drink. Italian lemon sits just behind, sharper and cleaner, so between them they span a wider citrus range than one fruit ever could. Juniper is clearly readable underneath, green and dry, and coriander bridges the gap between the fruit and the resin with its warm seed note. Angelica root dries out the foundation, giving the finish somewhere solid to land. The palate is bright and juicy at the front, then the grapefruit bitterness arrives late and lengthens everything considerably.

Because the bitterness is the interesting part, the mixer must not sweeten it away. Choose a plain tonic with firm carbonation and ice the glass right to the top. Cut a wide swathe of pink grapefruit skin and express it over the surface so the oils land on the drink, which follows the recipe exactly; a wedge of the fruit works too but adds water. Avoid anything flavoured, which would blur two distinct citrus fruits into a single vague one. It also makes a straightforward aperitivo spritz, where the bitterness does more work than the colour. It closes citric and gently bitter, the grapefruit outlasting the lemon by some distance.