Giggle in the Ginnel owes its name to a party held in the alleyway beside the distillers' house. In northern England a ginnel is exactly that: a narrow passage between buildings. Shed One kept the memory in the name of this 43% ABV gin, made in Ulverston, Cumbria, and sold in a 70cl recycled glass bottle.

Star anise is the signature botanical, joined by angelica root, elderberries and fresh orange zest over a juniper base. Anise gives the recipe its sweet, liquorice-like lift, orange brightens it, angelica supplies an earthy dryness and elderberry adds a quieter fruit note than the bright berries of an infused fruit gin. Judges at the World Gin Awards picked up clear angelica on the nose alongside poppy seed aromas, then angelica again on the palate with a heavy dose of juniper and a rooty, earthy trail, calling the result easy-drinking and a gift to anyone fond of that root.

Orange and anise are the easiest notes to name when tasting. Juniper and roots hold a dry line underneath, and the spice keeps going well after the swallow. Behind the bottle is the small distillery Andy and Zoe Arnold-Bennett opened in 2016, first in a garden shed and since 2019 in the Old Calf Shed, where a bar and shop welcome visitors. Everything is still made in small batches.

One citrus garnish is all this gin needs: a strip of fresh orange peel, squeezed lightly over the ice before it goes in. Its oils echo the zest in the recipe without adding a second anise flavour. Mix 4cl of gin with 10cl of Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water for a starting ratio that leaves the star anise audible. Hold back any extra fruit until you have tasted it, because the dry angelica notes are precisely what set this apart from a plain orange gin.