Guava and papaya are not botanicals anyone expects from a Scottish distillery, and that is precisely the point of the Cabinet of Curiosities series they arrive in. Lesley Gracie built Oasium around the idea of a desert oasis, setting those tropical fruits and citrus blossom against the lavender, lemon verbena, rose petals and cucumber that anchor the house style, and bottled the limited edition at 43.4% ABV.

The fruit is what strikes first and it does not behave like citrus. Guava is soft, musky and slightly floral in its own right, papaya rounder and gentler still, and between them they occupy a register that ordinary gin botanicals rarely reach. Citrus blossom bridges the gap toward the classical side, floral and orange-scented rather than sharp. Beneath the fruit, lemon verbena runs a bright green lemony line that prevents any drift toward heaviness, lavender adds its cool aromatic top, and rose petals with cucumber supply the recognisable house signature underneath. Juniper is present but held well back. The palate moves from tropical fruit through flowers to a clean citrus finish, which is a longer journey than most limited editions attempt.

The producer's own recommendation is a gin and tonic garnished with cucumber, and it is the right call: the cucumber cuts the fruit and stops the drink reading as tropical juice. Use a neutral tonic, since anything floral will collide with three flowers already in the glass. Plenty of ice, poured gently, keeps the blossom notes intact. It serves equally well as a base for creative cocktails in which the guava is allowed to lead. Of the Cabinet of Curiosities releases, this is the one that travels furthest from the house style while still sounding like it. It ends floral, fruity and clean, the citrus closing behind the fruit.