Buddha's hand citron leads a broad Chinese botanical palette in this limited Batch release. First produced in January 2018 as the distillery's inaugural Innovations release, the recipe returned in 2019 and again for the 2022 Year of the Tiger. Buddha's hand and pomelo meet Sichuan pepper, chrysanthemum, juniper, coriander, galangal, star anise, cinnamon, liquorice, apricot, red dates and zedoary. The aroma is immediately citrus-rich, but more fragrant and pithy than ordinary lemon. Pomelo supplies freshness, chrysanthemum a light floral note and Sichuan pepper a tingling, dry lift. Galangal, anise and cinnamon deepen the middle before apricot and dates add rounded fruit rather than obvious sugar. Bottled at 40% vol., it keeps the experimental recipe agile. The original release earned Bronze at the 2018 competition held in San Francisco.

The recipe moves through contrast: fragrant citron against pithy pomelo, cooling flower against tingling pepper, then roots and dried fruits beneath them. Those transitions take the bottle beyond novelty because its distinctive ingredients remain organised from first aroma to dry finish. The details reward slower tasting before tonic is introduced.

The official recommendation uses 5 cl of gin, premium tonic and pink grapefruit. Fill a copa with ice, add the liquids, then slide a grapefruit half-moon and several Sichuan peppercorns among the cubes. Place another grapefruit wedge and a small scatter of peppercorns beside the glass to make the aromatic cue visible.

Citron and pomelo offer distinct citrus tones before chrysanthemum and Sichuan pepper change the pace. Roots and dried fruit then supply depth beyond novelty.