Gindome Old Tom Gin takes a different route to the gentle roundness associated with its style: the Estonian distillery adds no sugar. Instead, almonds bring a soft texture and a suggestion of sweetness to the 43% ABV gin. The recipe is far from spare. Juniper from Saaremaa and the Mediterranean joins coriander, angelica, orris, orange peel, apples, sloes, rose and a range of warmer spices. The Hope Distillery, where Danish master distiller Steen Lerche-Jensen works, makes the gin with a London Dry-style process, then bottles it as an Old Tom because of the softer character it finds in the finished liquid. The 50 cl bottle carries the cat that gives the historical style its name.

Juniper and coriander keep a familiar dry foundation beneath the fruit. Apple and orange peel brighten the palate, while almonds add smoothness without the weight of syrup. Galangal, cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise give the later flavours a warm, complex edge. Liquorice root contributes further depth, but the overall impression is not simply sweet. The slight contrast between dry production and rounded texture is what makes this gin worth tasting neat. A small pour lets the almond quality emerge slowly; tonic brings the orange and spice forward. It is recognisably an Old Tom, yet it avoids relying on added sugar to make that point.

Try it first in a classic gin and tonic with large ice and a neutral mixer. A strip of orange peel and one fresh coriander leaf among the cubes are enough to pick up two parts of the recipe; leave a little more of each beside the glass. The garnish should be light so that almond and apple can still be noticed after dilution. Add tonic gradually, since a long pour will flatten the softer middle of the palate. The distillery also gives an Apple Tom recipe with lemon, apple syrup, apple juice, Mediterranean tonic, green apple and thyme. That fruitier option is a separate cocktail; the simpler gin and tonic is a clearer introduction to the unusual unsweetened Old Tom itself.