Black cardamom is not a darker version of the green pod. It is dried over open fire, which leaves it smoky and resinous with almost none of the cool camphor its relative is known for, and using it instead of the usual kind sets the whole direction of this recipe. Beveland makes Jodhpur Spicy in Spain at 43%, through a four-stage distillation.

Four peppery elements sit around it. Black pepper is the deepest and most familiar, white pepper sharper and more penetrating, green pepper fresher and almost herbal, and red chili supplies straightforward heat rather than aroma. Together they build a warmth that arrives late and stays, which is the defining sensation here. Cumin adds an earthy, savoury weight underneath, ajowan seeds a thyme-like pungency alongside, and ginger a cleaner burn between the two. Juniper holds the base and never gives way, and the citrus maceration performed during the final distillation preserves the fruit aromas that a longer run would have boiled away, so citrus stays bright above all that spice rather than being buried by it.

A gin this hot changes what a mixer is for. Neutral tonic and a very cold, very full glass keep the heat legible instead of letting it flatten; pour firmly, since 43% carries the spice. A wheel of lime cuts across the warmth better than lemon. Neat over ice is worth trying once, and it makes a striking Bloody Mary variation. Recognised at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Building heat into a gin without turning it into a novelty needs restraint at every stage. Four separate distillation stages give four opportunities to overshoot, and the citrus arriving last is the safeguard against exactly that. It ends peppery, smoky and warm.