They aged the sugar in barrels before it ever reached the gin. Toasted brown sugar, matured in wood on its own account, is then used to sweeten a spirit that has already spent time in casks itself, and that double exposure to oak is what separates this from an Old Tom made by stirring syrup into a finished gin. Maison Ferrand bottles it at 46.5%.

The starting point is Citadelle Réserve, which arrives already carrying its own wood: roundness, subtle tannins and the warm oxidative notes that come from time in cask. The sweetening then follows rather than covers. It is measured enough to give the Old Tom character the style requires while leaving the botanical precision intact, and the barrel influence stays central throughout instead of being buried under sugar. Historical English gins of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are the reference, and this is a considerably more careful reconstruction than most attempts at that period.

The nose shows candied citrus, soft spices and light floral accents. The palate is rich and layered: citrus peel, a gentle sweetness, woody tones, and warm spices reading as nutmeg and cinnamon, with juniper and angelica holding a herbal line audible right through. The finish is long, slightly sweet, floral and spiced, and the barrel is audible right to the end.

Neat, or with a single cube. In cocktails it belongs in a Tom Collins or a Martinez, both of which were written for exactly this style and both of which gain structure from the wood. Old Tom nearly vanished as a category, and most modern attempts at it reach for sugar as an afterthought. Ageing the sweetener first is a slower answer to the same problem, and a considerably more convincing one.