One of England's oldest distilleries running a recipe built around Indian plants is a combination with two centuries of history behind it, and none of it accidental. Thirteen botanicals, several of them from the subcontinent, distilled on English equipment in the London Dry method, and bottled at 43%: the arrangement is exactly the one the original trade produced.

What the Indian half brings is depth rather than heat. Ginger is the clearest of them, a warm, clean burn that arrives mid-palate and builds gently. Bitter almond works underneath with its dry marzipan character, giving the body a weight and an unctuousness that a purely classical recipe would not have. Liquorice root extends the finish, sweet with no sugar anywhere in it. Above them the English structure is entirely orthodox: juniper leading firmly, coriander seed adding warm spice, angelica root supplying dry earth right at the bottom, and citrus peels holding the top bright and resinous. The nose is wild berry and juniper over a quieter background of citrus and aromatic herb. The palate is smooth and unctuous, more rounded than the London Dry label usually promises.

Method this classical takes any conventional serve. Neutral tonic, ice filled generously, a normal pour, and lemon peel above; the recipe has no need of anything cleverer. It stands up in a Martini, where the almond gives more body than a lean gin would, and in a Negroni without disappearing. Two golds at San Francisco, in 2011 and 2013. Old equipment and distant botanicals is a much older idea than craft distilling. This is roughly what the trade looked like two centuries ago, before anyone thought to call any of it a style, and the recipe has not needed updating since. It ends spiced, citric and dry.