A recipe attributed to an English soldier in the First World War is the story this bottle carries, and Rubbens has been distilling in Belgium since the early 1800s, which makes the house older than the tale it tells. The recipe itself stays undisclosed apart from one named element, star anise, and the spirit is built on grain and bottled at 40%.

Withholding a botanical list puts the weight on what actually reaches the glass, and here that is texture as much as flavour. The body is full and the aroma distinctly woody, which is unusual in a gin that has not been near a barrel and points instead to root and bark material in the recipe. Star anise is the one ingredient named, and its liquorice sweetness is easy to find, sitting warm and slightly sweet through the middle without ever turning into confectionery. Around it the balance of spices stays deliberately quiet, and the effect is more comforting than assertive. Grain is the other half of the answer: a good base spirit is what produces the silky texture this bottle is built on, smooth in the mouth and warm rather than sharp on the way down. The finish is refined and unhurried.

Softness of this kind is easy to bury under a strong mixer. A neutral tonic works well over ice piled high, and the ratio can favour the spirit since there is no aggression to tame. Orange peel suits the anise better than lemon does; a single star anise pod is the garnish echoing the one botanical the house is willing to name. It is also good neat, where the woody side is clearest. A poppy on a Belgian label carries more than decoration. A house two centuries old can afford to say very little about its recipe. A recipe kept quiet for two centuries is either very good or very ordinary, and the texture answers that. It ends woody, anise-sweet and warm.