Three whisky lovers, Minnie, Angus and Tor, set out to make a gin with the balance, complexity and texture to be enjoyed neat. The result is Copper Lion Dry Gin, a London Dry at 45% ABV, handcrafted in small batches in the Cotswolds and sold from the brand's base on Tivoli Street in Cheltenham.

Minnie, the distiller, spent a year refining the recipe on a small five-litre still, and a scientific background shaped that patient, methodical work. Retailers describe a recipe of twelve English garden botanicals, with juniper firmly at the centre. The strength gives those botanicals room: flavours stay defined whether the gin is sipped neat, stirred into a Martini or lengthened with tonic.

The tasting notes read like a walk from garden to kitchen. The nose brings cut grass, jasmine and fresh citrus. The palate turns to rich juniper and a creamy note of gingerbread cake, and the finish closes on soft cinnamon with lingering sweet orange marmalade. That shift from green and floral to warm and baked gives the gin its depth, and it explains why the founders wanted it to hold up without a mixer. Coming to gin from whisky, the team paid particular attention to mouthfeel, and a 50 cl bottle at the same strength is also listed by retailers.

Care extends to the packaging. The glass bottle is made in the UK, the closure is a natural, carbon-negative cork with a wooden top, the shrink wrap is compostable cellulose and the adhesive biodegradable, so no plastic is used; the botanicals come from Sedex-approved ethical suppliers. Retailers suggest three ways to enjoy it: neat, in a gin and tonic or in a Martini. With an Indian tonic, a wide strip of orange peel brings out the marmalade finish without masking the jasmine.