A chocolatier made this, and the botanical list gives it away before the label does. Cocoa beans from Colombia, hazelnuts from Piedmont, almonds from Avola: three ingredients from a confectioner's shelf rather than a distiller's, assembled by Xolato in Belgium around a reference to Xocoatl, the cacao drink of the Maya and the Inca. Bottled at 44%.

Roasted material behaves differently from botanical material, and that is the whole interest here. Cocoa arrives dry and slightly bitter rather than sweet, closer to a dark chocolate than to anything confected, and it settles low where it gives the palate real weight. Hazelnut sits just above it with a rounder, warmer nuttiness, and Avola almond adds a marzipan note that is drier than either. Together those three build a base that no ordinary gin possesses. Madagascan vanilla softens the whole arrangement, and then the wild Madagascan chillies arrive and change everything: a genuine heat, late and building, that stops the sweetness from settling and turns what could have been a dessert into a spirit. Dried raspberries and dried banana add fruit above, Nordic lemon a clean citrus lift, and juniper keeps the recipe inside its category rather than beside it.

The producer suggests ice, cocoa nibs and raspberries, and following that literally is the right instinct. A short measure over a large cube lets the chilli build slowly, which it will not do in a long drink. If tonic is wanted, keep it neutral and pour a heavy measure, since 44% and cocoa both dilute badly. Avoid anything sweetened: sugar is already present in the aroma, if not in the liquid. Chocolate and gin is an idea usually executed as a liqueur. It ends nutty, warm and gently hot.