LODDA Le Gin No 2

Elderberries and pink peppercorns join rose in LODDA Le Gin N°2, the second gin from the Normandy distillery. Rose remains the thread that links it to the first LODDA gin, from Veules-les-Roses, while the berries and pepper take it in a fruitier, spicier direction. Like the first, it comes in a 50 cl bottle at 44% ABV.

Spicy · Floral · Fruity

Rose leads the nose with a fragrant floral note, followed by a restrained berry character.

On the palate, elderberry brings a soft fruit impression, gently sweet and tart, and pink peppercorn adds a fine, lightly spiced warmth at the close. Juniper provides the gin foundation beneath these three stages, so the fruit never turns the gin into a liqueur. Chilling and dilutionDilutionThe water added by melting ice. In the right amount it opens the aromas and softens the alcohol; too much flattens the drink.Glossary soften the rose and make the berry and pepper easier to tell apart. Elderberry has a darker, wine-like fruit than elderflower, which gives the gin a deeper fruit note.

Compared with the original Veules-les-Roses gin, which pairs rose with a marine oyster leaf, N°2 trades the coast for the hedgerow. LODDA recommends tasting it neat, over ice or with a balanced tonic such as Fever-Tree. At 44%, it has enough presence for a long drink and stays pleasant in a small neat pour, and its berry and pepper notes suit a BrambleBrambleA cocktail created in London in the 1980s: gin, lemon and sugar over crushed ice, drizzled with blackberry liqueur.Glossary or a gin sour as well. The pepper also makes it an interesting base for a NegroniNegroniAn Italian cocktail of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and red bitter (Campari), served over ice with orange peel. Born in Florence in 1919.Glossary with a lighter vermouthVermouthAn aromatised, fortified wine flavoured with herbs and barks; its name comes from the German Wermut, wormwood. Dry vermouth goes into a Martini, sweet red into a Negroni.Glossary.

For a tonic highballHighballA long drink served in a tall, straight glass with plenty of ice: a spirit topped with soda or tonic. The word also names the glass.Glossary, fill a balloon glass with clear ice and pour in 5 cl of gin. Add 10 to 15 cl of chilled Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water, depending on the length you prefer, and stir gently once. Place a rose petal, two or three elderberries and one or two pink peppercorns in the glass. Skip any sweet berry syrup, which would hide the gin's balance of floral aroma, tart fruit and spice.