Sakura appears here as both flower and leaf, but unlike the blossom bottling in the same range this one is not built around it. Tokyo Dry is the dry, spiced member of the Ukiyo family: made in Kagoshima on a shochu base that is redistilled in copper pots, it puts yuzu peel, mikan peel and sansho pepper alongside the classical dry-gin set of juniper, coriander, cardamom, angelica root and lemon peel. Bottling strength is 40% ABV.

The shochu base is what separates it from a London Dry built on grain. It leaves a rounder, softer weight under the botanicals, so the spice never arrives hard. Yuzu peel and mikan peel open together, the yuzu perfumed and sharp, the mikan sweeter and closer to a ripe mandarin, with lemon peel keeping the citrus clean at the top. Coriander and cardamom warm the middle, angelica pulls it dry, and sakura sits behind all of it - a faint powdery floral note rather than a headline.

Sansho closes. That tingling, numbing citrus-pepper quality is the last thing on the palate and it lingers well past the fruit, which is what makes this read as a dry gin with Japanese punctuation rather than a floral one.

Because the spice is the ending, the mixer should be neutral and let it land. Fill a large stemmed glass with ice, pour 50 ml, then 150 ml Thomas Henry Tonic Water, its gentle sweetness and light quinine leave the citrus and the sansho intact. Garnish with a thin round of yuzu and a fresh sakura leaf, or an edible cherry blossom if a leaf is out of reach. It also stands up neat with a single drop of water, which opens the aromatics without cutting the spice.