LièGin Val-Dieu

A beer is distilled before this gin is made. LièGin worked with the Val-Dieu Abbey Brewery on this limited edition, taking Val-Dieu Cuvée 800, distilling it, and folding that beer distillate into a gin built around juniper. The idea is to find the meeting point between brewing and distillation, and the result is a flavoured ginFlavoured ginGin with flavourings, often fruity, added after distillation. It may be coloured and lightly sweetened.GlossarySee Flavoured gin gins at 40% that sits somewhere between the two worlds.

Citrus · Woody · Limited Edition · Spicy

Around the beer distillate, the recipe stays close to gin. Juniper provides the structure and the identity. Yuzu and grapefruit bring a clear citrus line, the yuzu more perfumed, the grapefruit more bitter. Ginger adds a gentle spicy lift. The beer element is what changes the picture: distilling a beer keeps some of its malty, cereal character and a faintly woody nuance, and those notes set the bottle apart from the fruit-led gins most limited editions turn out to be. Cuvée 800 was brewed for the abbey's eight hundredth anniversary, which explains the name.

On the nose, grapefruit and yuzu lead, then juniper, with malty and cereal aromas underneath and a restrained touch of ginger.

The palate opens fresh and citrusy before moving into a rounder middle where juniper and the malted notes coexist. Ginger gives aromatic tension without heat, and the beer-derived component adds depth and a slight bitterness that recalls brewing ingredients. The finish is dry and lightly bitter, with citrus zest, soft malt and a lingering spice.

London Essence Pomelo & Pink Pepper Tonic is a good partner for that hybrid character: the pomelo picks up the grapefruit and yuzu, and the pink pepper answers the ginger. A dehydrated grapefruit slice completes the drink, its concentrated peel bitterness sitting well beside the malty finish. The citrus should frame the beer notes rather than hide them, so a single slice is enough.