Sea Garden Gin is a Belgian gin from Garden Gin Company, bottled at 41% ABV and built around sea vegetables rather than a vague coastal mood. The producer's story links it to ingredients harvested mainly near the Westerschelde, and the result is one of the more distinctive ideas in the lot: samphire, sea kale, sea aster, sea buckthorn and Timor pepper around a juniper base.

The nose feels savoury and maritime, with citrus freshness and a salty lift. On the palate, the coastal note is important but must remain balanced: samphire brings crunch and salinity, sea buckthorn adds tart fruit, sea kale and sea aster contribute green depth, and Timor pepper gives a precise spicy finish. The gin has umami character, but it still needs juniper and dryness to remain firmly in gin territory.

For the associated gin and tonic, pour 5 cl of Sea Garden Gin over clear ice, add 12 cl of Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water and garnish with grapefruit peel plus samphire. Grapefruit adds bitter citrus and keeps the drink bright; samphire directly recalls the sea-vegetable core. Keep the glass cold and do not add sweet fruit, because the attraction here is salinity, freshness and a clean dry finish.

Sea Garden is one of the clearest examples where the perfect garnish matters. Samphire is not decorative here; it confirms the saline and coastal profile. Grapefruit keeps the drink from becoming too green, and the Indian tonic gives bitterness without hiding the umami touch. The serve feels precise rather than eccentric for eccentricity's sake.