Rose and cucumber are already in every bottle this distillery makes, so a limited edition has to add something rather than start again. Midsummer Solstice stacks four more flowers on top of that signature: lavender, orange blossom, elderflower, and a set of floral essences Hendrick's declines to name. Lesley Gracie put it together, and it comes out at 43.4%.

Building flowers on flowers risks a perfume, and the citrus is what prevents it. Grapefruit peel supplies a clean bitterness at the top, lemon zest a sharper brightness beside it, and between them they cut through material that would otherwise turn heavy. Under that, each flower does something distinct. Lavender is the coolest, aromatic and slightly camphorous. Orange blossom is heavier and sweeter, closer to neroli than to any fruit. Elderflower sits between them, delicate and faintly honeyed. Rose remains recognisably underneath, and cucumber does what it always does here, giving the palate a cool watery texture that keeps everything light on the tongue. The result is crisp rather than lush, which is not the obvious outcome of a list this floral.

Daytime drinking is what the producer suggests, and the recipe supports it. Take a neutral tonic and a glass iced to the brim, and pour with a light hand, since the flowers do not need much help. A slice of orange is the house recommendation and it works, echoing the blossom; fresh berries are the alternative when the fruit side is wanted instead. Nothing sweetened, which would collapse the whole balance. A limited edition that departs from a signature without abandoning it is the harder trick. Naming a bottle after the longest day sets an expectation of abundance, and the restraint here is the better answer. It ends floral, citric and light.