Twenty-three months of development is a long time to spend on a first release, and GauGin used it to work out how far a London Dry can lean south before it stops being a London Dry. The answer, bottled in Belgium at 46% ABV, keeps juniper firmly in the lead and arranges Mediterranean citrus and aromatic herbs around it. It was conceived as the opening bottle of a three-gin range rather than as a one-off.

The higher strength is doing real work. At 46% the juniper stays green and assertive rather than polite, and the citrus reads as peel rather than as juice, bright and slightly bitter across the top of the aroma. The herbs sit just behind, dry and aromatic in the way southern hillside plants tend to be, and they give the middle of the palate a savoury lift that a purely citrus-led gin would not have. A faint floral nuance runs underneath without ever stepping forward. The mouth is fresh and clean, with enough weight to carry through a mixer and a finish that stays dry.

That combination makes it a straightforward gin and tonic bottle and a versatile cocktail one. Keep the tonic neutral and the garnish simple, exactly as the producer recommends: a strip of lemon or orange peel will pick up the citrus, and a single small herb sprig will pick up the rest. Avoid crowded garnishes, which work against a recipe built on clarity, and resist the temptation to add a second herb simply because the recipe appears to invite one. At this strength it also holds its shape in a Negroni, and it has more than enough grip for a Martini without needing a heavier style behind it. For a first release, the ambition comes through clearly in the tasting rather than only on the label. It signs off dry, citric and herbal.