Uncommon Distillery makes the base spirit for its Signature Gin from British sugar beet, fermenting and distilling it three times before any botanical comes near the still. Based at Coxhorne Farm outside Cheltenham, in the Cotswolds, the distillery bottles the finished gin at 42% ABV in 70cl and 20cl formats.

Juniper, coriander, liquorice, clementine and vanilla shape the recipe. Clementine brings a soft citrus aroma, vanilla rounds the middle, coriander adds a lightly spiced, citrus-like note and liquorice stretches the impression of sweetness without any sugar being added. Juniper holds its resinous freshness through all of it, which keeps the result firmly a gin rather than a flavoured spirit.

Production runs to no more than about seventy bottles at a time, with the botanicals vapour infused rather than boiled. The sugar beet base is unusual, and its job is to provide a clean canvas: there is no vegetable flavour in the glass. Ben De Haan bought the distillery operations of Sibling Spirits in November 2024 and launched Uncommon, keeping Digby Elliot-Berry, who had worked there in the Sibling years, as lead distiller. Each batch varies slightly; the house treats that as part of the deal.

Orange peel is our garnish of choice, its scent sitting naturally with the clementine. Peel alone is enough, since juice or syrup would push the drink towards sweetness. Fill a glass with large ice cubes, measure in 4cl of gin, then 10cl of cold Indian tonic. Squeeze the peel lightly above the surface and drop it in. The citrus scent arrives first, with vanilla, coriander and juniper still distinguishable behind it. A spiced fig and plum gin and a local honey old tom come off the same stills for anyone who wants to explore further.