Fifty-seven per cent, or 57% ABV, is the figure printed in gold on the white label of August Navy Strength, and it sums up the idea of this bottle from Augsburg, in the Swabian part of Bavaria. The producer places it in the tradition of the English Royal Navy, whose officers wanted a gin strong enough to stay usable even if it soaked the gunpowder, and describes it as the complex aromatic play of August Gin made even more intense. The label simply reads Handgefertigt in Schwaben: handmade in Swabia.

Citrus · Dry · Spicy

Its point of reference is the house's classic London Dry, bottled at 43% ABV, whose recipe pairs juniper with coriander, angelica and orange peel, then cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, a touch of sloe and, more unusually, shavings of Swiss stone pine. At navy strength those ingredients carry further. The pine and juniper feel more resinous, the orange more vivid and the spices warmer, while the extra alcohol holds more of the botanical oils and gives a fuller texture once the gin is diluted. Tasting the two August bottles side by side is the easiest way to see what the extra strength changes.

Taken neat, the first sip is powerful, so a few drops of water are worth adding before judging it. They soften the heat and let the orange and the stone pine come forward, with cardamom and nutmeg lingering in the background. The finish is long and dry, and the juniper returns at the very end.

In a gin and tonic, a measured pour of gin topped with about two and a half times as much Indian tonic keeps the drink balanced rather than fiery; add the tonic gradually and taste as you go. An orange twist echoes the peel in the recipe, and a very small sprig of pine nods to the stone pine. The strength also makes it a natural base for a Gimlet or a Negroni, where it stands up to lime or to vermouth and bitter.