Shed One Martini Gin was built for one drink in particular. The small Ulverston distillery in Cumbria wanted a gin that would make a dry, herbal martini with nothing more than an olive or a lemon twist, and fills 70cl bottles of recycled glass at 42% ABV. The World Gin Awards have given it a Silver medal.

Grains of paradise, coriander, wormwood, orris root and lemon verbena join juniper in the recipe. Wormwood contributes the gently bitter, herbal edge that a martini drinker recognises immediately, while verbena answers with a lemon scent. Grains of paradise bring peppery warmth rather than chilli heat, orris lends a dry floral backbone, and coriander ties the citrus and spice together. The name states an intention: the bottle holds gin, not a cocktail premixed with vermouth.

Tasting it neat, juniper and verbena arrive as a clean wash before the dry character builds with a gentle pepperiness. Paul Jackson of The Gin Guide framed it as a gin that does an aperitif's job, waking up the palate before a meal. For a classic martini the distillers suggest six parts gin to one part dry vermouth, stirred cold. Andy and Zoe Arnold-Bennett have run the distillery since 2016, moving from a garden shed to the Old Calf Shed in 2019 and keeping production small.

For a longer drink, a classic Indian tonic, 10cl, and a lemon twist show the recipe off well. The peel echoes lemon verbena without the acidity that juice would bring. Squeeze it above the ice, drop it in, start at a 4cl pour, then adjust to taste. A restrained garnish makes the wormwood, the juniper and the peppery spice easier to pick out. Chilled hard and poured into a cold glass, the same gin needs nothing beyond an olive to become the drink it was named for.