Milk thistle is a roadside weed with a purple flower head, and almost nobody distils it. Its contribution here is a dry, faintly bitter vegetal note that no root or peel provides, and that single plant makes Brighton Gin's list read as chosen rather than assembled. A small team of friends and family makes it at 40%.

Orange is what most people will notice. Fresh peel rather than juice, it runs persistently through the aroma and stays there, and lime zest sharpens it from above with a cleaner acidity. Coriander seed grown locally rather than imported adds the warm spice, and juniper holds a quiet resinous line that never pushes forward. The base is 100% certified organic grain alcohol, which is a decision about smoothness before it is a decision about labelling: fewer impurities in the spirit means less to cover with botanicals.

The gin is bright and clear in the glass. Juniper appears subtly on the nose with the orange behind it and persisting. The palate is gentle and approachable, fresh citrus dominant with a slight floral turn through the middle, and the finish carries a delicate spiced warmth rather than a burn.

Neat, over ice with a slice of orange, or in a Gin and Tonic or Negroni: all four work because nothing in the recipe fights a mixer. Silver at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 2020, and a bronze there again two years later. The blue-green bottle takes its colour from the railings along Brighton seafront. A weed, a seed grown down the road and an organic base do not make a list assembled for a shelf; it reads as the recipe a small team actually wanted to drink themselves, which is a different starting point from most craft launches, and usually a more durable one than a marketing brief.