A brewery distilling gin will reach for hops sooner or later, and Ninkasi reached for Saaz. That is a Czech variety bred for lager, prized for a soft floral aroma rather than the resinous punch of a modern brewing hop, and it behaves in a still much as it behaves in a kettle: fragrant, delicately bitter, never loud. The Rhône-Alpes house builds a certified organic gin around it at 40%.

Hops and juniper are closer relatives than the two industries usually admit, both resinous, both aromatic, and the recipe leans on that. Juniper holds the backbone while the Saaz flowers open the nose alongside it. Sloe berries add a fruity, slightly tangy depth underneath, which is unusual outside a sloe gin and works here as a fruit floor rather than a flavour. Hand-zested orange and lemon supply the bright citrus, and blood orange appears in the palate as the fruit widens. Cardamom sharpens the freshness, coriander seed adds a light peppery nuance, and fennel brings the aniseed note that becomes clearer towards the end.

Everything is macerated in neutral grain spirit and distilled in a copper still hand-shaped and hammered in France on the Charentais pattern. The palate moves in a legible arc: floral and resinous hops first, then a burst of citrus, then herbs and spice, with the texture smooth and moderately dry throughout.

A neutral or lightly bitter premium tonic and a thick strip of lemon zest is the serve that shows the most. Neat over ice is worth doing once, to hear the hops and the citrus against each other without a mixer in the way. A brewery that distils has one advantage over a distillery that does not: it already knows what a hop does to water. It ends citric, floral and bitter.