Amuerte Coca Leaf Gin - White Edition

Peruvian coca leaf is the botanical that gives this Belgian gin its name and its argument. Amuerte pairs it with hand-picked finger lime, cardamom and coriander, bottling at 40% ABV. Both of the headline botanicals are unusual enough that the recipe could have gone in almost any direction; what it does instead is hold everything tight, green and firmly under control.

Citrus · Spicy · Herbal

The coca leaf reads herbal rather than exotic: green, slightly grassy, with a dry vegetal quality occupying the centre of the palate, in the place a sweeter recipe would fill with fruit. Finger lime works above it and is the more surprising of the two, since its flavour arrives in small bursts rather than as a single wash of citrus, sharper and more concentrated than a wedge of lime. Cardamom brings its cool aromatic prickle in behind them, and coriander links the citrus to the herb by way of a warm seed note. Beneath everything, juniper traces a firm dry line and never lets the green botanicals drift away from gin. The palate is crisp and invigorating, closing long and clean rather than heavy.

Given how specific the botanicals are, the mixer should contribute nothing. A neutral tonic over a glass packed with ice is the right build, and lime peel tracks the recipe more closely than anything else; finger lime pearls, if you can find them, are better still. Steer clear of herbal or floral tonics: they press directly against the coca leaf. A small measure poured neat is worth the detour as well, since the green character is clearest without any dilutionDilutionThe water added by melting ice. In the right amount it opens the aromas and softens the alcohol; too much flattens the drink.Glossary at all. Two botanicals this unusual could easily have produced a curiosity; the restraint of the supporting cast is what makes it a gin instead. It closes citric, herbal and dry.