Ten months at least in traditional Croatian oak barrels turn HUM 587's Botanical Gin into this Barrel Matured Gin, bottled at 45.7% ABV. The distillery, Okusi Visa, was founded in 2020 on the island of Vis by Gary and Hilde Hellebø Ward, and it keeps the same thirteen-botanical recipe as its base. The label calls it simply Barreled Gin, Matured, and the batch presented by the distillery was produced in June 2021.

The starting point is a London Dry built on herbs from the slopes of Mount Hum: juniper, angelica and orris roots, coriander, Greek sage, rosemary, lemon peel, wild mandarin and bergamot leaves are among the documented botanicals. Time in wood gives the spirit a faint tobacco colour and a slight smoky taste of oak, but the distillery insists that the gin never loses its origins. The higher strength helps the botanicals hold their shape as the cask character develops.

The nose is noticeably warmer than that of the clear gin, with the herbs now wrapped in gentle oak. On the palate, the smoky note of the wood sits over a dry herbal core, where sage and rosemary are still easy to find. The finish is longer and rounder, leaving a little oak after the first herbal impression. Taste it neat first, then add a few drops of water to see the balance shift from wood back towards the gin. Compared with the clear Botanical Gin, this is a bottle to sip slowly rather than to mix.

The distillery's own suggestion is Barrelled on the Rocks: the gin poured over a large ice cube in a short glass. A strip of orange peel, twisted over the surface, adds freshness without turning the drink into a fruit cocktail. Avoid sweet mixers, which would hide the reason for its long stay in Croatian oak.