On a family farm just outside Pitlochry, in Perthshire, Helen Stewart has been distilling Badvo gin since 2018. The distillery is best known for small-batch gins made from hand-foraged botanicals that reflect a particular landscape, and its Travel Series applies the same idea to places further afield. Vietnam Gin opens the series; every botanical in it comes from Vietnam, and the 70 cl bottle holds the gin at 45% ABV. Pitlochry, a Victorian resort town on the edge of the Highlands, is better known for whisky, which makes a gin distillery on a nearby farm all the more distinctive.

Citrus · Spicy · Fruity · Herbal

The distillery's tasting notes describe the journey: buttery lychee, lemongrass and marzipan on the nose, followed by clementine, notes of bamboo and a peppery spice, before a complex finish. The Travel Series is designed to take the drinker somewhere else through botanicals alone. A judge at the Great Taste awards in 2022 called it a very well put together gin with great complexity and a lingering finish.

The contrast between fruit and spice is what makes the gin interesting. Lychee and clementine give a soft, exotic fruitiness, lemongrass a fresh, citrusy lift and the marzipan note a rounded sweetness, while the pepper keeps the finish dry and warming. Juniper sits underneath, holding the flavours together. At 45% ABV, a few drops of water open up the lemongrass and the bamboo-like green notes.

Badvo recommends serving it with Fever-Tree Aromatic Tonic and a curl of orange. The aromatic tonic, with its gentle bitterness and spice, frames the fruit without hiding it, and its pale pink colour suits the exotic theme. Keep the orange curl as the only garnish so that the lychee and lemongrass stay in front.